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 After the great decline of the '50's
and '60's known throughout the province of Quebec, local agriculture
has experienced a certain revival in the 1980's with the development
of outdoor and greenhouse market gardening. Beef farming is still
important for the archipelago, even if the slaughterhouse is
now closed, and the arrival of a poultry farmer during the same
decade has now rendered the Iles de la Madeleine self-sufficient
in egg production. Some small scale, specialized products have
also seen the light of day during the past few years.
However, agriculture is still
a marginal activity with about only forty producers locally,
often part-time, and with economic spin-offs evaluated at close
to one millions dollars. Lack of land protection is one of the
main factors halting agricultural development. Despite its limitations,
the agricultural sector maintains good potential for development.
Some major projects could be realised in the next few years,
if human resources and financial investments are used in a rational
and concrete fashion. The importance of these projects is not
as much in their actual scope, but rather in the spin-offs they
may generate in the larger sector.
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Economy