Agritourism and Agribusiness Entrepreneur Training, Assistance and Product Marketing in the Eastern Alabama Black Belt

This project sought to foster a group of new and current agribusiness/agritourism entrepreneurs to capitalize on the expanding markets in East Central Alabama. It was an innovative, regional coordination of the rural- and urban-based services of three primary entities—Tuskegee University, the Tuskegee Human and Civil Rights Multicultural Center/Visitors Center, and the Montgomery Area Center for Entrepreneurial Development—to train, assist, and provide a marketing center for the entrepreneurs. The project also involved the cooperation of state and local government, extension, and financial institutions. The training of a select group of community members took place at the Montgomery Area Center for Entrepreneurial Development in their 12-session NX Level Entrepreneurial University. These entrepreneurs were assisted by the Tuskegee University Rural Business and Economic Development Program with individual consulting and referrals and attended workshops given by the Montgomery Area Center for Entrepreneurial Development. A centralized marketplace, real and virtual, was initiated in the Tuskegee Human and Civil Rights Multicultural Center/Visitors Center for the products of the entrepreneurs, and technology resources were made available there for their use. The potential impact and expected results was to be a strong group of community business leaders who would positively influence agricultural and community sustainability in the Eastern Alabama Black Belt.

In this project, eighteen entrepreneurs with existing and new businesses were sent through entrepreneur training. Among those entrepreneurs and businesses represented were an organic vegetable producer, handmade wooden furniture maker, fruit/tree resort owner, aquaculture producer, value-added peanut product maker, value-added sweetpotato product company, an agricultural product development specialist for a non-profit, and a farmers’ market coordinator. In terms of the demographics of the eighteen entrepreneurs trained: thirteen were female; nine were under 40 years of age; ten were creating new businesses; all attendees were Alabama Black Belt county residents, though eleven lived in particularly rural areas. Of the eighteen sent to the training, fourteen met the minimum attendance criterion for participation, and seven of those completed business plans. In addition the entrepreneurs engaged in additional training and networking activities: two entrepreneurs received additional business training from the Tuskegee-Macon County Community Development Corporation; four entrepreneurs interacted with other business people at the Montgomery Chamber of Commerce sponsored Minority (and Women) Enterprise Development Week Conference; the organic vegetable producer networked with an urban entrepreneur who desired organic fruits for an organic soy-based frozen desert product. By the time of the project’s end, at least one of the new business entrepreneurs had obtained his business license, at least one had applied for a new business loan, and at least two had received technical assistance from the resources that they were exposed to.

Introduction

The purpose of this project was to promote sustainable agriculture and community development by cultivating agribusiness and agritourism entrepreneurs to establish successful small enterprises that take advantage of the growing housing development and expanding tourism market opportunities in the Eastern Alabama Black Belt. In the State of Alabama, the issue of rural development has a number of challenges that other Southern states, even neighboring Mississippi and Georgia, do not face. For one, a well-funded and well-staffed rural development initiative, though planned, has not yet been established within the state government. Another is the situation that many rural communities have economic development plans and programs that do not incorporate their neighboring jurisdictions in a cooperative manner. These and other challenges in Alabama have been documented by the Economic Development Institute, offering a comprehensive view of the crisis in rural Alabama (Lee and Sumner, 2003). In addition, they observed that “the old industrial recruitment model (or "smokestack chasing") has little to offer much of rural Alabama” (Lee and Sumner, 2003). These issues are particularly critical in the rural regions of the state known as the Black Belt were persistent poverty exists. The Economic Development Institute outlined a number of strategies for both the state government and rural communities (Sumner and Lee, 2004). The strategies for rural communities include (1) developing a strong and diverse cadre of community leaders; (2) creating and carrying out a strategic plan; (3) joining with other jurisdictions to maximize economic resources; (4) embracing innovative economic development strategies; and (5) providing a better quality of life for residents (Sumner and Lee, 2004). Sumner and Lee (2004) state that, “in successful rural communities you inevitably find leadership, planning, partnerships, creativity, and a good quality of life”. This project addressed the first and third strategies forwarded by the Economic Development Institute, particularly in developing strong community business leaders and maximizing resources by joining with other jurisdictions. The focus was the agricultural sector of the economy with an emphasis on promoting sustainable agriculture in as much as community development.

The East Central region of Alabama is a growing area with the housing, commercial, and industrial development from the Auburn-Opelika to the Eastern Montgomery areas. This growth has prompted the establishment of new farmers’ markets in Auburn, Tuskegee, and Eastern Montgomery within the last few years. The appeal of direct to customer marketing of produce and other agricultural products has been shown through the continued success of these venues for agribusiness. In addition, tourism has grown in the East Central Alabama region because of new and renewed points of interest in Auburn, Tuskegee, and Montgomery. An indicator of the increased growth of tourism is the significant number of new hotels and surrounding restaurants that have been built within the last few years along Interstate 85 from Montgomery to the Alabama-Georgia State Line. In the geographical center of this growth is Macon County, where there are four major points of interest—the Tuskegee National Forest, the U.S. Park Service Dr. George Washington Carver Museum and the Tuskegee Airmen National Historical Site, which have been recently renovated and rededicated, and the new Tuskegee Human and Civil Rights Multicultural Center, which has been designated by the County as the Visitor Center.

This growth in population, marketing venues, and tourism interests represents an extraordinary opportunity for new enterprises to capitalize on the interest in the region. However, in many cases, it has not been the persons currently in the rural communities who have been able to take advantage of these opportunities, particularly from a regional perspective. This project identified members of the rural community in East Central Alabama who had an interest, as well as a potential for success, in agribusiness/agritourism, supported their entrepreneurial training, assisted them in developing their new enterprises, and initiated a plan to provide a marketing outlet for them in the new Visitor Center. Through these actions, this project hoped to develop a community-based group of agribusiness/agritourism entrepreneurs who can take advantage of the new market opportunities.

The impact of this project will be seen as these businesses grow and employ persons in the community, because they are community-based. These businesses will also attract more tourism to the area as new points of interest. These new and the existing businesses can then be publicized as a “package” of interests in the Tuskegee/Macon County area. Another impact of the project was the conceptualization of rural economic development within the target area as a regional issue and responsibility. The coordination of services from both the rural and urban areas emphasized the connectedness of the counties in the region. As Sumner and Lee (2004) asserted, “A regional approach does not mean focusing on rural needs at the expense of their metropolitan neighbors. Strong cities need strong towns and vice versa. When rural Alabama prospers, so will urban Alabama”. The participants in the program gained a larger sense of the available markets and opportunities. They also were able to network with other business that they can serve and be served by.

As to this project’s relevance to sustainable development, the training, assisting, and product marketing effort for agribusiness/agritourism local entrepreneurs contributed jointly to agricultural and rural community sustainability. In terms of sustainable agriculture, this project developed new agricultural-related enterprises. In addition, it improved the sustainability of current agricultural producers by helping them to access new markets and develop plans for new value added products to increase sales and profits. Of particular interest was new enterprises that market the agricultural products of small farmers, where the farmers would receive a fair price for their goods. As the products of the agribusiness/agritourism entrepreneurs are marketed at the Visitor Center, they will serve as a demonstration of the success of agricultural-related business. When viewed by youth, this will potentially encourage them to consider agriculture as a career thereby sustaining the workforce in this vital national sector. This project simultaneously supported community sustainability by potentially creating jobs in the area. This may be potentially significant with the development and processing of value added products and regional marketing efforts. An increased marketing and processing will necessitate more production from the area’s farmers. With increased tourism, the staffing needs at the agritourism enterprises will have to be met to accommodate the visitors. The service industry sector—gas stations, restaurants, hotels, retail, etc.—in the area will also profit from the increased traffic to the area.