Journey of an agri-food cooperative

In 2008, Coop Purdel celebrated its eightieth anniversary. Few agricultural cooperatives in Quebec can boast such a long and eventful history, shaped both by the facilities it was offered and the challenges it encountered. This small business, which had a difficult start during the Great Depression of the 1930s, was able to develop after the Second World War as the leading cooperative throughout the Lower St. Lawrence region and even in the neighboring regions of the North Shore, Gaspé, and New Brunswick, particularly through its dairy sector. More recently, after selling its dairy operations, the cooperative refocused its efforts on developing regional agriculture by reorganizing the farm supply sector and creating a significant pork and poultry production sector.
Purdel's history demonstrates the roots of a cooperative in its community. It promotes education in solidarity and democracy, as well as the commitment and active participation of young people whose goal is to improve their well-being and take charge of the economic development of their region. Heir to an enviable past, the cooperative is still able to meet other challenges specific to the beginning of the century, such as the effects of globalization on agriculture, the fall in agricultural income, the exorbitant price of land, and the crisis affecting certain production sectors. In this context, the achievements and successes of the past become messages of hope for its successors.