Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Cultivating Community's New American Sustainable Agriculture Project (NASAP) is a community-based agricultural initiative with multiple collaborators. The long-term goal of the project is to encourage and support socially disadvantaged farmers to successfully acquire, own, and operate farms that are consistent with their culture and lifestyle aspirations and that strengthen regional agriculture as a whole. The current stakeholders are recently resettled Latino, Somali, and Sudanese farmers. Program activities include delivering outreach, educational programs, and providing technical assistance at farms and markets. The goal of this OASDFR project is to develop and deliver training and resources to participating farmers that will assist them to build more profitable farm enterprises. NASAP will deliver focused educational programs to enhance the potential of these limited resource farmers to establish successful farm businesses in Maine and New Hampshire. In addition, NASAP's outreach will assist participating farmers in being well informed of the many USDA programs and risk management solutions that are available to them and will empower the farmers to participate equitably in these programs. NASAP will help farmers learn about available services, build relationships with the service providers, and advocate for their rights to access these services.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
The goal of the project is to develop and provide training and resources to recent immigrant farmers that will assist them to build successful farm enterprises. The primary goal of this application is to deliver focused outreach and technical assistance, including educational programs, to enhance the potential of these limited resource farmers to establish successful farm businesses in Maine. NASAP's outreach assists participating farmers in being well informed of the many USDA programs and risk management solutions that are available to them. NASAP helps the farmers learn about available services, build relationships with the service providers, and advocate for their rights to access these services. Specific objectives over the proposed three year project include: 1. Conduct targeted outreach to 180 immigrants in Maine and NH, especially those who have a background in agriculture. 2. Conduct intake interviews with 75 immigrants who are interested in NASAP to assess their agricultural aspirations and connect them to the appropriate programs and resources. 3. Provide a training program that introduces 50 immigrants to agricultural opportunities in Maine and NH with a focus on production, marketing, business planning, and risk management. 4. Implement a program of on farm trainings and farm visits that will be participated in by 60 aspiring and established immigrant farmers. 5. Provide one-to-one consultation and technical assistance to 40 immigrant farmers to assist production at NASAP training farm sites. 6. Identify the use and document the effectiveness of tools and resources that beginning immigrant farmers in Maine and NH are using. 7. Have, at least, 20 new immigrant farmers qualify as farmers by the USDA definition of at least $1,000 of income through their agricultural enterprise by the project's completion.
Project Methods
The NASAP will use a combination of outreach, training, technical assistance, marketing assistance, production assistance, and assistance accessing resources to help participating farmers realize their goals. Activities in support of the farmers includes outreach to immigrant communities; interviews and goal setting; introductory training sessions; training farm sites and technical assistance; specialized training sessions; one-on-one business counseling/development; access to land, credit, and capital.