Equal Access to Agriculture Programs and Opportunities

Equal Access to Agriculture Programs and Opportunities

Summary

Minority farmers, facing farm crises, discrimination, and neglect, are seemingly on a long road to extinction. With them goes the largest source of minority-held equity in the South, and an important base of economic development. However, groups seeking to combat this trend believe current socioeconomic conditions make it feasible, perhaps even essential, to replant minority farmers and communities on the land.

Objectives
This project sought to:
(1) broaden collaboration among minority and limited resource producers in the South;
(2) enhance their participation in USDA sustainable agriculture, marketing and other programs;
(3) develop, with USDA, strategies to identify barriers to participation and enhance outreach and services
to these producers; and
(4) strengthen networks, strategies, collaborative projects and methods to increase the viability and number
of minority producers.

Approach

Collaborators included major minority farm organizations in the South, with cooperation from USDA entities and educational institutions. The Land Loss Prevention Project managed and staffed the program. The training components were coordinated by The Rural Coalition/Coalición Rural, a culturally and regionally diverse alliance of over 100 community-based farm groups, including all those participating in the project. The National Council of Community Based Organizations in Agriculture served as the advisory committee for the program and worked with the USDA and its agencies to develop partnerships and strategies to assure more equitable and effective access to USDA programs and services.

The collaborators have worked closely with USDA on the development and implementation of the Civil Rights Action Team Report and on the National Small Farms Commission Report all with the objective of developing and strengthening partnerships between USDA and community-based organizations. Participating groups worked with the Department to encourage policy makers to waive a Statute of Limitations that prevented USDA from settling outstanding civil rights cases. They have also cooperated to find resources for collaborative work, including marketing and enhancing minority farm participation in the FSA county committee system and in risk management.

Results
In the final project period, the participating groups came together for USDA briefings and concerns impacting our communities and work, prepared legal briefs and testified during the March 2 Fairness Hearing in Pigford v. Glickman, the African-Amercan farmers civil rights class action case. The groups also conducted two regional training programs on cooperatives and marketing, including use of the internet. Several meetings were held with USDA staff in strategic program improvement. Participants were given small grants for strategic grassroots work to improve local USDA program participation and community food security.

Collaborators: