Does the Pangea model empower family farms? A case on farmland stewardship

Land is often considered as a metaphor for power, wealth and status. This is as true in agriculture as the control and ownership of farmland are often intertwined with the notion of food security. As a result, in recent years farmland has attracted investors outside farming which often leads to speculative behaviours. With a new approach in mind, Pangea was founded in 2012 by farm owner-operator Serge Fortin and well-known Saguenay entrepreneur Charles Sirois. Their arrival on the Quebec agricultural scene garnered significant criticism from farming communities across the province. As Pangea is beginning to venture into the province of Ontario, some wonder if the model is both scalable and transferable to other economies. This case study presents the Pangea model by virtue of several interviews conducted at Pangea’s head office in Montreal in early 2016. Using a political economy framework, the model’s performance is evaluated and commented on. Some limitations and future research paths are also suggested.