Jean-Martin Fortier

Market gardener, author and teacher, Jean-Martin Forcier is a great activist for regenerative agriculture on a human and profitable scale.

After completing his university studies in environment at McGill University, he began his career in agriculture and in 2004, with his wife Maude-Hélène Desroches, they created Les Jardins de la Grelinette . A microfarm where they developed a bio-intensive method promoting soil health and maximizing yields on small areas by using nature as an ally.

In 2012, inspired by the success of Les Jardins de la Grelinette, he wrote Le Jardinier-Maraîcher, a practical manual, and launched the Jardinier-Maraîcher Masterclass to share his expertise online. Convinced of the importance of our consumption habits for the future of the planet, he founded Growers & Co. This Quebec company aims to support and promote farmers who cultivate regeneratively, telling their inspiring stories in a biannual magazine and designing agricultural tools and clothing to support them.

Jean-Martin is also a mentor at Ferme des Quatre-Temps , an experimental farm he co-founded in 2016, where new farmers acquire the skills needed to become tomorrow's leaders. His involvement in this project was documented in the television series Les Fermiers, broadcast on TV5 Monde for 2 seasons.

Since 2021, he has been actively working on the Espace Old Mill project, a tourist site where a farm table showcases vegetables from his garden. As an ambassador for the Rodale Institute and a member of the advisory committee for The Real Organic Project movement, he strives to promote organic farming and the development of micro-farms around the world. In recognition of his contributions, he was honored to receive the Meritorious Service Cross (Civil Division) from the Government of Canada.