The Association des producteurs maraîchers du Québec (APMQ) will be receiving $497,562 through the AgriScience Program – Projects Component under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership. This funding will support the development of a decision support system (DSS) that will help improve the efficiency, productivity and competitiveness of lettuce growers.

The project supports the adoption of innovative agricultural technologies within the sector by integrating and optimizing digital tools to monitor crop growth. The DSS will combine forecasted weather data with data collected under commercial production conditions by a remote sensing tool developed by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada researchers and VegForecast.

By working with local producers to optimize predictive tools, the project aims to enable growers to make informed decisions, reduce labour costs and food waste, and maximize yield.

"The challenges faced by our vegetable growers are complex, but innovation can provide practical solutions,” says Heath MacDonald, federal minister of agriculture and agri-food. “By continuing to invest in innovative projects, we are paving the way for a more sustainable, competitive and prosperous future for the sector.”

“The APMQ enthusiastically welcomes any opportunity to push innovation in agriculture, where productivity and competitiveness issues are crucial,” said Catherine Lefebvre, president, APMQ. “We would like to thank Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada for its commitment to knowledge development, and we are confident that other opportunities for collaboration will emerge in the near future.”

Founded in 1925, the APMQ is a Montreal-based non-profit organization that brings together Québec's leading vegetable and horticultural producers. The APMQ manages the Place des producteurs, the largest wholesale fruit and vegetable market in Eastern Canada. More than 70 per cent of Québec’s vegetable production comes from APMQ members.

AAFC researchers have developed a decision-making support tool that analyses drone imaging data to provide growth predictions of individual lettuce plants as well as forecasts of optimal harvest dates at least two weeks in advance under commercial growing conditions. VegForecast is a commercially available crop intelligence platform developed by Canadian agtech company, Innoptech.

Source: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada October 13, 2026 news release