Progress report for SMS21-002
Project Information
Mississippi Sustainable Agriculture Model Plan of Work is a culmination of the involvement of the State Sustainable Agriculture Committee. This committee is composed of representatives from both 1862 & 1890 Extension Organizations, Federal and State Government Agencies, NGOs, and farmers. A program assistant has been employed to assist the state coordinators and the members of this committee in carrying out the training objectives set forth in this model plan. The main objective of this plan is to include all of the various SARE programs into a seamless program. This plan includes more public awareness of SARE through either individual contacts made during regional/district/county workshops or a state wide Sustainable Agriculture conference. Training goals will be reached by means of in-service education, conferences, workshops, demonstrations, field days, tours, and publications. The different media sources of the stakeholders will also be used to help reach the different focal groups set forth in this plan. Training materials developed by SARE will be incorporated into the training for extension staff. Attendance at National/Regional Conferences will be encouraged as a means of further professional development in sustainable Agriculture. Some training may be conducted jointly between both land grant universities in the state. Evaluation will be done using the logic model by the evaluation team. All institutions and agencies involved are committed to this plan and have committed resources of time, money, and personnel to carry it out
The main objective of the Model State Program is to incorporate all aspects of SARE into our State outreach program to expand knowledge and promote the adoption of sustainable agriculture practices to all farms and farmers regardless of size and type of production throughout Mississippi. The Committee will evaluate the objectives of the Model State Program and prioritize the programs and training that meets the most crucial needs in our state. Efforts will be made by the committee to leverage other resources with our funds in order to most effectively meet these needs.
To accomplish our mission our specific objectives are:
A) Strengthen links of communication among Mississippi Universities, State and Federal Agencies, NGO’s, Farmers, and communities.
B) Seek to establish SARE as a familiar positive concept with farmers, NGO’s and public.
C) Increase efforts to get Extension Specialists, Field Agents and other Agency staff members to incorporate Sustainable Agriculture concepts in educational activities.
D) Increase involvement in the various grant programs.
E) Seek to make both commodity groups and legislative leaders aware of Sustainable Agriculture and its implications to all-Mississippians – both producers and consumers.
Advisors
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Education
Workshops
Field days
One-on-one
Farm Visits
Demonstrations
Conferences
Tours
Education & Outreach Initiatives
To educate small and limited-resource farmers and forest landowners on sustainable crops and forest production practices.
The Southern SARE Model State Program funds leveraged with state and federal funds were utilized to educate small and limited-resource farmers and forest landowners on crops and forest production practices. Thus, Alcorn State University Extension Program (ASUEP) through its Extension programming activities conducted training workshops on different approaches on how to increase soil health on farms through cover crops, crop rotation technology and adoption of appropriate conservation practices. Farm tours were also utilized to expose farmers to conservation practices with regards to sustainable vegetable production practices. In addition to the aforementioned, training workshops participating farmers including other members of the agricultural community were also trained farmers on Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs), Good Handling Practices (GHPs), pesticide usage and safety, selecting the right pesticide, and equipment calibration and optional tests for participants interested in becoming certified (or recertified) applicators of restricted pesticides). Several USDA programs and services including farm record keeping were also presented to participating farmers. Approximately 40 growers were introduced to the benefits of cover crops and crop rotation and on how to improve crop yield and quality.
Additionally, ASUEP staff utilized SARE Model State Program funds leveraged with Renewable Resource Extension Act (RREA) Program funds to educate 33 farmers and forest landowners to address both awareness and to increase knowledge regarding the importance of an informed and knowledgeable limited-resource woodland owners about Timber Stand Improvement (TSI) and Forest Health Management (FHM). The programming activities consisting of outreach educational training workshops, hands-on trainings and field days. The high investment costs, long rotation intervals, and forest decline instigated by both biotic and abiotic factors have discouraged many Small-scale Forestland Owners (SFOs) from investing in forests, and thereby intensifying the forestland loss problem among the underserved minority communities in Mississippi.
As a result of the aforementioned activities some SFOs in Mississippi are engaged in forest farming, producing mushrooms, growing medicinal herbs for their families and distributing the products to other community members. A survey conducted after the training workshops indicated that majority of the participants (95%) indicated an increase in knowledge about forest health monitoring medicinal plants economic opportunity/ importance of forest farming practices production
Educational & Outreach Activities
Participation Summary:
Learning Outcomes
Project Outcomes
- To conduct more training focusing on specialty crops (mushrooms, moringa and stevia).
- Educate farmers on the importance of soil health (crop rotation and cover crops).
Face of SARE
SARE program information were displayed at educational events and activities such as field days, conferences and workshops. SARE was also promoted as a positive concept to farmers, NGO's and the general public