Abattoir and AgriSaveur move ahead
Djeneba Dosso
Local Journalism Initiative
SHAWVILLE – The future of AgriSaveur, a shared commercial kitchen for agricultural producers to process their products, was seemingly put on the back burner following the MRC Pontiac’s purchase of the local slaughterhouse. However, Kim Lesage, MRC Pontiac director general, confirmed their “main vision has not changed” and buying Abattoir les Viandes du Pontiac ($1.6 million) was vital to support local agriculture and ensure the success of AgriSaveur.
“Our management framework for AgriSaveur, the MRC’s ‘Signature Innovation’ project, was aimed at creating a space with agricultural vocation and more specifically, agri-food processing. The main objective is to develop the full potential of agriculture, its production and its processed products,” she said.
The province introduced ‘Signature Innovation’ projects last February as part of the Regions and Rurality Fund (FRR) to help MRCs develop niches specific to their territory through the realization of a major project. AgriSaveur, which would ensure farm-to-plate products are 100% sourced from the Pontiac while providing farmers and processors with advanced equipment, was the “perfect project” for the region according to Shanna Armstrong, MRC Pontiac economic development commissioner.
When the local slaughterhouse went up for auction, the MRC decided to use funds from components 3 and 4 of the FRR and a portion the AgriSaveur project fund to place a bid. Not much was said about AgriSaveur following the abattoir purchase, prompting doubt over the future of the initiative.
“Not all of our funds have been allocated to the purchase and there are other funding opportunities and agreements underway,” Lesage clarified. “We bought the building and equipment; however, we’ll have an agreement with Coopérative de solidarité AgriSaveur du Pontiac (CSAP) to lease it from us and operate the business.”
CSAP, made up of agricultural producers, working members and supporting members, finished recruitment in August, confirmed William Armitage, CSAP chairman.
“The goal now is for everyone to work together to complete this project properly,” he said. “We have a mixture of experience and knowledge. Now it’s a matter of getting the slaughterhouse running again.”
Initially, the MRC expected slaughterhouse operations to resume in the fall when CSAP assumed all managing responsibilities. This timeline is now threatened as members await MAPAQ permits. Armitage explained CSAP is working closely with MAPAQ and government bodies to figure out logistics and tear through mountains of paperwork. The process, however, is a long one.
“We’re trying to figure [things out]. We can’t give an exact timeline, but everybody is hopeful it’s going to happen [sometime in 2024],” said Armitage.
In the meantime, the Quebec firm Mallette was hired to conduct research for the “acquisition of equipment for the AgriSaveur facility” and create a business plan that will aid producers with marketing.
Local farmers are already getting the word out, notably at the recent Shawville Fair.
“Everything is going pretty smoothly – we haven’t had any hiccups – so we’ll hopefully get this thing going as fast as we can,” he added.
After MAPAQ permits are acquired, CSAP plans to recruit more committee members and hire employees. The hope is for AgriSaveur operations to begin shortly afterwards.
