Recipient Organization
Mississippi Association of Cooperatives
233 East Hamilton Street
Jackson,MS 39202
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Food security exists when all people, always, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. However, eight hundred million people go hungry every day, with another two billion people suffering from micronutrient deficiencies, and still another 2.1 billion people are categorized as overweight. Change can only take place once there is a social pressure to democratize the food system and return the control to individuals and communities. For this (FSOP), MAC program participants will consist of 200 limited Resource/ Socially Disadvantaged farmers from six Mississippi counties where MAC six (6) farm family cooperatives reside. The project seeks to provide outreach to MAC farmers and coordinate the services of university extension, FDA, consultants, and youth to provide classroom training in local communities that have not been address; develop a marketing plan for fruit and vegetable farmers involved with MAC; provide technical assistance to farmers on the process of becoming certified and assist farmers with the costs of certification; and develop a peer training program to reduce the need for external trainers and keep expertise in the community.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
Goal 1: Provide outreach to MAC farmers and coordinate the services of university extension, FDA, consultants, and youth to provide classroom training in local communities that have not been address.Objective 1.1: Provide outreach to two hundred farmers associated with the MAC and recruit fruit and vegetable farmers interested in food safety certification. Outreach will be done via newsletter, email, farm visits and phone calls to gain maximum participation.Objective 1.2: Coordinate with extension, FDA, and consultants to provide a one-day courses for produces to encompass GAP and FSMA requirements and one, one-day GHP training session. Distribute workshop evaluation forms to determine which farmers are interested in having additional hands-on training to lead them through the certification process.Objective 1.3: Use a previously developed farm in-take form to assess the needs of farmers and the types of crops produced.Goal 2: Develop a marketing plan for fruit and vegetable farmers involved with MAC.Objective 2.1: Assess the strengths and weaknesses of the operation. The strengths will help prioritize where to focus your energy in developing new markets.Objective 2.2: Assess the postharvest capacity of MAC. Objective 3: Assess the transportation storage needs of MAC. Objective 4: Identify markets within a 200-mile radius, buyers, packing requirements and food safety requirements of buyers.Goal 3: Provide technical assistance to farmers on the process of becoming certified and assist farmers with the costs of certification.Objective 3.1: Guide each farmer (goal of ten farmers) in developing an individualized farm plan and Food Safety Quality Manual.Objective 3.2: Conduct mock audits and assist farmers in arranging USDA or third-party audits based on buyer requirements.Objective 3.3: Assist farmers with securing cost share funding of $500 for the first audit from the Mississippi Agriculture Commission. Objective 3.4: Establish a small grant fund using FSOP funds to supplement the cost of the first audit by an additional $500 for those who achieve certification.Goal 4: Develop a peer training program to reduce the need for external trainers and keep expertise in the community.Objective 4.1: Coordinate with extension, FDA, and consultants to provide a one-day courses for produces to encompass GAP and FSMA requirements and one, one-day GHP training session.Objective 4.2: From the approximated ten farmers who will receive certification in Year 1, select five farmers who have the skill and temperament to function as Peer Trainers. Match each of these trainers with two additional famers interested in certification and lead them through a hands-on training process. Ten additional farmers will be trained in Year 2 using this methodology.Objective 4.3: Train youth on GAP certification process throughout the first year with a concentrated effort during summer months.Objective 4.4: Develop the Food Safety Team composed of MAC staff, farmers, and youth to collect data and assist farmers in the certification process.
Project Methods
Small farm communities in rural Mississippi are underserve by extension and consultants, because of their remoteness, the lack of available training facilities, inadequate staff to devote the necessary time, and the cost associated with getting the training. The Food Safety Outreach Competitive Grants Program will provide an opportunity for the Mississippi Association of Cooperatives (MAC) to secure the food safety training and subsequent certification necessary to supply competitive wholesale and retail markets. Group sessions and class room training provided by university extension services are needed and serve as a component to the necessary training, but our experience is that farmers learn faster through hands-on training; consequently, our plan will coordinate services offered by universities and consultants and emphasize hands-on training to maximize the number of certifications and to build capacity in the community to guide others through the certification process.Training tools already exist to assist farmers with the development of a food safety quality manual and with data collection to lead you through a successful audit. There are currently approximately 180 computer programs which assist with quality management. The Produce Safety Alliance at Cornell University in collaboration with FDA developed a Grower Training Curriculum through a four-year nationwide development process. PSA provides online courses and localized training to prepare growers and educators to become certified. To get more farmers through this process, these tools need to be demonstrated on the farm or in the packing shed so that the abstract concepts become concrete. Our contention is that training works better continuously at the farm site for a farmer to quickly reference his manual and answer the questions during the audit process.Moreover,MAC and its collaborators the Mississippi State University Extension Service (MSUES), Alcorn State University Extension Program (ASUEP), USDA' Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and other agencies as needed willwrkdwith to address the fundamental problems of sustainability and profitability of small farm operations. MAC has embraced the mission to support and encourage the sustainability of healthy, thriving small farms that contribute to food security, local food systems, healthy rural communities, and environment.Several training and technical assistance methodologies will be employed to build the food safety culture within Mississippi Our methodology is derived from our experience in working with 200 limited resource/socially disadvantage farmers in small communities. Our approach in implementing goals 1-2 is simply sequential. We will start by meeting program who grow fruit and vegetables. MAC will host a one-day grower training workshop which will include representatives form Alcorn State University, FDA, and Indian Spring Farmer's Cooperative. Training for farmers seeking to meet FSMA requirements will be the focus of the morning session, and farmers interested in GAP requirements will be required to attend the full day of training. A survey or workshop evaluation form will be distributed to gauge which farmers have high interest in receiving additional firsthand training to successfully pass a GAP audit or FSMA inspection. Activities under goal two will logically follow with the development of a marketing plan.To properly develop a marketing plan, consultants will have to acquire needed information through, in-take forms, surveys, and personal conversations. Based on the initial intake information a marketing plan can be developed to help farmers strategically align resources, aggregate produce, and transport it to market at reduced costs to gain the highest possible return. The activities under Goals 3-4 will require a more adaptive approach. Under Goal 3 consultants will collaborate directly with farmers one-on-one. Consultants will have to adapt to communicating with different age groups. Consideration will have to be given to the idea that older farmers are low or no technology users while the opposite may be true for younger farmers and the youth group which will be specifically trained during the summer months for year one. MAC personnel will also attempt to identify individuals who have problems with literacy and coordinate with consultants to adapt the training as needed.