Empowering African-American Farmers: Addressing Mississippi's “Black Agrarianism” Sustainability Challenges through Voice and Representation

Methods-

A qualitative approach (Garst & McCawley, 2015; Patton, 2002) will be used to gain deeper insights into rapid decline of the Black farming population in Mississippi's farming landscape and to identify research-based solutions to revive the Black footprints in Mississippi's peasantry, ensuring a sustainable farming system. The research question of the study is: What are the emergent social equity practices that will elevate Black farmers' contributions as well as participation in Mississippi farming and enhance agriculture sustainability?

Data Collection and Analysis-

The IRB protocol will be submitted to the IRB committee of Mississippi State University for approval. The data will be collected from two main sources: 1) Black farmers (n=12), with three representing each of the four Mississippi regions (Northeast, Delta, Southwest, and Coastal Region). Regional Extension coordinators and Extension agents in each region will assist in reaching potential farmers. 2) Extension professionals (including Extension program leaders, specialists, directors, etc.) from three divisions (Agriculture and Natural Resources, Community Development, and 4-H) at two land grant universities, Mississippi State University Extension Service, and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station (n=15). Dr. Osman (PI) holds 90% of the Extension responsibility in her position and has connections with several Extension professionals across the state. The study participants will be selected using purposive and snowball sampling techniques. Semi-structured interviews will be conducted with Black farmers to gain insights into the challenges that prevent them from contributing to farming and to identify social equality practices that empower their voices and representations from their perspectives. The farmers will be incentivized according to MSU’s IRB policy as part of their compensation for time. Three focus group discussions will be conducted with Extension professionals and administrators from Mississippi State University, Alcorn State University, and agricultural organizations operating in Mississippi, such as Mississippi State University Extension Service and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station. The focus groups will help gain insights into the current strategies adopted or used for empowering Black farmers and their future strategic year plan for enhancing Black farmer communities' contribution to farming in Mississippi. The data generated from interviews and focus groups will be recorded for transcribing purposes. The 12 farmers will be interviewed in person, while the Zoom platform will primarily be used for conducting focus groups with Extension professionals. The qualitative data will be analyzed using ATLAS.ti software employing an inductive approach (Thomas, 2006).

Presentation of Findings-

The findings of the study will be disseminated through several venues:

1. A one-day workshop (i.e., extension training; virtually; 2 hours) for all Extension professionals’ representatives of the two land-grant universities, and local agricultural organizations, which the lessons learned from addressing the representation gap of Mississippian Black farmers in Mississippi farming will be presented.
2. The findings will be shared at MSU Graduate Research Symposiums and at national conferences, such as the National Association of Extension Program and Staff Development Professionals (NAEPSDP).
3. A manuscript focusing on the challenges faced by Black farmers and the strategies to mitigate social inequality issues in Mississippi farming will be submitted to the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development.
4. An Extension publication on the topic of elevating diversity, equity, and inclusion practices to empower Mississippian Black farmers in farming will also be produced.