Sollio Agriculture brief on the development of the Bridge-Bonaventure area
Sollio Agriculture, formerly the Agri-business Division of La Coop fédérée, is proud to present its brief today as part of the public consultation led by the OCPM and the City of Montréal on the creation of development principles for the Bridge-Bonaventure area.
“We feel that it’s important to develop Montréal’s key neighbourhoods, such as the Bridge-Bonaventure area,” says Benoît Bessette, Vice-President of Marketing, Communications and Strategy at Sollio Agriculture. “We believe that this must be done in a balanced manner and that the main stakeholders involved, such as the ADM flour mill, should be considered. In the interest of Québec farmers, we ask the City of Montréal to focus on developing the Bridge-Bonaventure area in a way that preserves the industrial mission, activities, and use of the ADM mill site.”
Québec farmers, including several Sollio Agriculture members, sell their wheat crop for human consumption each year through the ADM mill. ADM is also a major supplier of coproducts, such as wheat shorts, to Sollio Agriculture, which buys part of ADM’s production and uses it for animal feed.
Mr. Bessette points out that different zoning could lead to coexistence issues with local residents if, for example, a residential development were to be built nearby. Industrial activities can cause various types of nuisances (noise, traffic, dust, etc.) for people living in the area. Mr. Bessette says, “It’s important to create real buffer zones to ensure that residents don’t have to deal with noise and dust.”
He adds, “For us, territorial cohesion must not only preserve the area’s industrial function but also support the ADM flour mill’s continued operation and development. The ADM mill is already recognized as a valuable part of our industrial heritage, and it is central to an economic activity that benefits all Quebecers.”
A growing market
Québec’s production of wheat for human and animal consumption has grown steadily over the years and in 2018, it reached approximately 243,000 tonnes, including some 65,000 tonnes for human consumption. The growth of the food grain production sector is based on a value chain that involves buyers such as ADM.
About Sollio Agriculture
Sollio Agriculture, the Agri-business Division of La Coop fédérée, is a Canadian leader in the agriculture industry. It specializes in the merchandising of farm inputs and value-added agronomic services. It benefits from a synergy among three sectors: Livestock Production, Crop Production and Grain. Present in almost every part of Canada, it has close to 1,100 employees and made $2.125 billion in sales in 2018 in Canada and abroad.