EXPERIENTIAL TRAINING OF EXTENSION PROFESSIONALS ON VEGETABLE PRODUCTION IN ORGANIC SYSTEMS AND THE ORGANIC CERTIFICATION PROCESS

Commodities

Practices

The low volume of organic food production in Alabama has resulted in a lack of emphasis on organic agriculture in the training of extension professionals in the state. This is particularly true in the blackbelt regions of the state, where a high population of small and limited-resource farmers operate their farm businesses. A number of these regions are served by extension professionals with several years of conventional agricultural experience but little (if any) experiential and educational exposure to organic food production and the organic certification process. The educational background and training of new extension professionals also tilts heavily (if not completely), towards conventional food production. The resulting inadequate competence in organic agriculture limits the ability of these extension professionals to offer appropriate and relevant organic food production information and assistance to the increasing number of Alabama farmers who are interested in organic food production.

This project seeks to offer experiential training in organic vegetable production and the organic certification process on Tuskegee University's certified organic farm.

The main objectives are to equip extension professionals and peer-mentors with practical skills in organic vegetable production and a practical experience of the organic certification process with the attendant production practices that ensure compliance with the regulations and policies pertaining to organic certification. The specific outreach objectives are:

• Provision of extension professionals and peer-mentors with experiential training in organic vegetable production to deepen their appreciation of what is involved in organic vegetable

• Providing experiential training on crop production, farm management, and record- keeping practices to ensure compliance with policies and regulations governing organic certification. An on-farm workshop on organic certification rules and regulations will conclude with a mock audit by an organic

Achievement of the above outreach objectives will complement the available funds from the 2021-2022 State Plan of Work. The 2021-2022 SPW covers the training of the same target group on dissemination of information on recommended organic pest management methods in vegetable production as well as the use of realistic and data- driven financial decision-making tools in the quest to optimize production inputs to maximize returns from organic vegetable production efforts.