Urban Agriculture Production and Distribution for Enhancing Local Food Systems

Project Overview

SNE23-016-DC
Project Type: PDP State Program
Funds awarded in 2023: $119,078.00
Projected End Date: 09/30/2025
Grant Recipients: The University of the District of Columbia; University of the District of Columbia
Region: Northeast
State: Washington, DC
State Coordinator:
Michael Whyte
Email
The University of the District of Columbia

Commodities

  • Vegetables: greens (leafy), greens (lettuces), peppers, sweet potatoes, tomatoes

Practices

  • Crop Production: crop improvement and selection, fertilizers, irrigation, nutrient management
  • Education and Training: demonstration, extension, technical assistance
  • Farm Business Management: cooperatives, farmers' markets/farm stands
  • Pest Management: integrated pest management
  • Soil Management: composting, earthworms, organic matter, soil analysis, soil quality/health
  • Sustainable Communities: food hubs, urban/rural integration

    Proposal abstract:

    Through a needs assessment, food production amongst urban
    agriculture struggles to be adequately supported economically.
    Broader and more consolidated training to enhance efficiencies
    and processes may serve to alleviate and reinforce our local
    producers and food systems. The educational approach will
    encompass an urban agriculture production to distribution path,
    which will consist of programs such as land
    assessment/preparation, soil analysis/soil amendments,
    irrigation, pest management, cultivation, and distribution. The
    training program will be conducted via virtual and hands-on
    workshops to offer greater flexibility and access.

    Performance targets from proposal:

    Ten Agriculture Service Providers will be certified in 3-month
    training in a production to distribution program. Throughout this
    program, educators and experienced ASP's will provide in-person
    and virtual workshops (up to 100 participants) to support our
    partner farmer organizations in training workshops embedded in
    the program. Participants will enhance and practice their skills
    in soil analysis, land preparation/irrigation, cultivation and
    IPM of one high value and one high yield crop, and farmers market
    distribution methods and processes. Knowledge gained through the
    New Beginning Farmer Program is applied and practiced at UDC
    Agriculture spaces, providing access to grow and distribute
    through UDC spaces if other spaces or distributions are not
    available or not yet set up. USDA says cropland needs only
    produce $1,000 dollars of sales for it to be considered crop
    lands. The training and production space will lead to the
    production of $1,000 dollars’ worth of crops for sale for each of
    30 New Beginning Farmers (NBF), resulting in a total of $30,000
    in local economic returns on yield within the local food system.

    Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.