Posts Tagged: SAREP

Farmers of color share their contributions, concerns in UC SAREP webinar series

When agricultural advisors came to the Cochiti Pueblo in New Mexico during the 1940s, they lined the irrigation ditches with concrete, in the name of boosting efficiency and productivity. But in single-mindedly focusing on water delivery, they neglected to consider how the previously inefficient seepage sustained nearby fruit trees. 

Their actions, as well-intentioned as they might have been, disrupted the local ecosystem and killed the trees that had fed many generations, according to A-dae Romero-Briones, who identifies as Cochiti and as a member of the Kiowa Tribe.

“In my language, we call the extension agents ‘the people who kill the fruit trees,'” said Romero-Briones, director of the Food and Agriculture Program for the First Nations Development Institute, a nonprofit that serves Tribal communities across the mainland, Alaska and Hawaii.

The historically tense relationship between Indigenous peoples and government-affiliated programs is one of the many complex dynamics discussed in a six-part webinar series, “Racial Equity in Extension,” facilitated by UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program.

“As extension professionals, we really need to know about the people we want to work with – what are their worldviews and what's the knowledge base that shapes their decisions,” said Sonja Brodt, associate director of UC SAREP, a program of University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. “And this is especially important to pay attention to when those people are from cultures or segments of society that have a history of being marginalized or oppressed by mainstream society, and because their significant knowledge has often been made invisible.”

Making communities of color in the agricultural sector more visible is a priority for Victor Hernandez, a sociologist and outreach coordinator for the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service. Hernandez, who has organized “Growing Together” conferences for Latino and Black farmers, is trying to get more farmers of color to participate in the upcoming 2022 Agricultural Census.

“If we cannot quantify the demographic, we cannot justify the need,” emphasized Hernandez, explaining that his office uses the data to direct resources that advance equity in service, program delivery and distribution of funds.

A legacy of mistrust

At the same time, however, Hernandez also acknowledged the challenges in registering growers of color for the census, conducted by the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service. (According to Brodt, USDA's most recent agricultural census, dating to 2017, counts approximately 25,000 producers of color among 128,535 total producers in California.)

“Many of us that are considered socially disadvantaged or historically underserved…a lot of times our peoples come from [nations with] oppressive governments,” Hernandez said. “And so when you come to the United States and you begin to build your life here, to go and engage with the federal government is not the first knee-jerk reaction.”

On top of government mistrust and fears of deportation or detention, other immigrant groups have seen mainstream agriculture – borne by the “Green Revolution” wave across the globe – replace deep-rooted cultural practices, said Kristyn Leach of Namu Farm in Winters.

“It just makes these small farmers distrust our own knowledge, the knowledge that's existed for centuries – before the kind of current iteration of agriculture that we're situated within right now,” said Leach, who works to preserve the agricultural heritage of her Korean ancestors, and facilitates a farmers' collaborative called Second Generation that adapts Asian crop varieties to climate change.

According to Romero-Briones, a collective memory of supplanted culture also lingers in Indigenous communities. In the Cochiti Pueblo, “primarily a subsistence agriculture community” with a long history of corn cultivation, their practices are distinct from those in the mainstream – including regenerative and sustainable agriculture.

“These practices are not really rooted in Indigenous agriculture,” she explained. “They're actually meant to displace Indigenous agriculture and food systems.”

Building relationships takes commitment

Given that legacy of cultural displacement and appropriation, how do extension professionals and other agricultural advisors slowly rebuild trust with communities of color? For Romero-Briones, it begins with a genuine respect for Indigenous practices, and she urges interested people to contact their local tribal historic preservation officer to begin strengthening those connections and understanding – beyond a couple of phone calls.

“As someone who works with Indigenous people all day, even I need to recognize sometimes I have to meet with people up to 12 times before we actually start talking about the work that I initially wanted to talk to them about,” Romero-Briones said.

In a similar vein, Chanowk Yisrael, chief seed starter of Yisrael Family Farms, encouraged listeners to reach out to members of the California Farmer Justice Collaborative – an organization striving for a fair food system while challenging racism and centering farmers of color.

“To use a farm analogy: we've got this ground, which is the farmers of color who have been neglected for a long period of time,” said Yisrael, who has grown his farm in a historically Black neighborhood of Sacramento into a catalyst for social change. “It's not just going to be as simple as just throwing some seeds and things are going to come up; you're going to have to do more – that means you got to get out and do much more than you would do for any other community.”

Investing time in a community is one thing – and backing it up with tangible resources is another. Technical expertise is only the “tip of the iceberg,” Leach said, as historically marginalized groups are also seeking land access and tenure, more affordable cost of living, and access to capital.

“All of those things are actually much bigger burdens to bear for most communities of color than not having the knowledge of how to grow the crops that we want to grow, and not knowing how to be adaptive and nimble in the face of climate change," Leach explained, highlighting California FarmLink as an essential resource. (“Understanding Disparities in Farmland Ownership” is the next webinar in the SAREP series, set for Nov. 19.)

Bringing diverse voices to the table

Another key is ensuring that farmers and farm workers of color are represented in management and decision-making processes. Samuel Sandoval, a professor in the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources and UC Cooperative Extension specialist in water management, develops outreach programs in English and Spanish for everyone from farm workers to the “boss of the boss of the boss.”

Sandoval said there are often gaps of communication between the decision makers and the people, most often Spanish speakers, who implement those measures. He remembers, for example, talking with water resource managers about their plans for a water treatment plant or new irrigation system – and then discovering that the irrigators and farm workers had no idea those discussions are happening.

“It has to be changed,” he said, “because at the end, the person who is going to operate the irrigation system and turn on or off the valves, the person who is looking if there's a leak or not – that's the person who's not being informed, or has not been informed on purpose.”

That exclusion of certain groups can lead to a loss of invaluable knowledge. Leach said there is a real danger in ignoring the wisdom of communities that have contributed so much to the foundation of food systems in California and around the globe.

“These really kind of amazing, sophisticated and elegant agroecological systems that we don't often legitimize through the scientific language and perspectives aren't seen as being really technically proficient – but, in many ways, they're more dynamic and more resilient than the things that we're perpetuating right now,” she said.

As a concrete example, Sandoval said that while extension advisors and specialists conduct studies to remedy a plant disease, farm workers might be developing – separately and in parallel – their own solutions by asking for advice from their social networks via WhatsApp, a phone application.

A reimagining of collaboration, Sandoval said, would include (and compensate) people working in the field for sharing their perspectives – bringing together academics and farmers, integrated pest management experts and pesticide applicators, irrigation specialists and those who do the irrigation.

A need to look within

Concerns about inclusion and validating alternate sources of knowledge apply also to the recruitment process in extension. Leach said that she has seen listings for advisor jobs that would require, at a minimum, a master's degree – which would automatically disqualify her, despite her extensive knowledge of Asian heirloom vegetables.

“When you look at a job description and you see ‘Asian crop specialist,' only required qualification is a master's degree, and then somewhere down the long list of sort of secondary desired, recommended things is some knowledge of Asian crops or communities…you know that just says a lot in terms of what  has weight,” Leach explained.

Before organizations can authentically connect with communities of color, they should prioritize diversity in their own ranks, said Romero-Briones. First Nations Development Institute had to ensure that they had adequate representation across the many Tribes that they serve.

“Before we start looking out, we have to start looking in,” she explained, “and that means we have to hire Indigenous people who know these communities.”

For extension professionals and other members of the agricultural community in California, the UC SAREP webinar series has helped spark that introspection and a meaningful reevaluation of institutional processes and assumptions.

“These discussions have been tremendously illuminating and eye-opening,” Brodt said. “But hearing and learning is just the start – it's incumbent on us, as an organization and as individuals, to take action to ensure that farmers of color and their foodways are truly respected and valued.”

SAREP offers small grants

The 2022/23 SAREP Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems Small Grants Program is accepting applications until 12 noon PST, Feb. 15, 2022.

SAREP invites proposals for small grants to fund pilot projects and research projects that support California's farmers, ranchers and land stewards and/or rural, urban, and Tribal communities to plan, implement or evaluate sustainable agriculture or food systems strategies.

Program Priority Areas

UC SAREP will fund projects that fall within two priority areas:

1. Support California's farmers, ranchers and land stewards of all scales in identifying, piloting and transitioning to

• environmentally regenerative approaches to producing crops and livestock (including but not limited to soil health, organic and agroecological practices, integrated pest management, crop diversification);
• pathways for realizing economic return from ecologically-sound crop management practices and fair labor practices;
• marketing and distribution strategies that support diversified, decentralized, and locally self-organized supply chains;
• strategies that promote producer-to-producer networking and producer-to-supply chain networking

2. Support California's rural, urban, and Tribal communities to identify, implement and evaluate strategies to

• expand access to healthy, sustainably produced, culturally appropriate foods;
• ensure worker well-being across the food chain;
• minimize the community and environmental costs of food production and distribution;
• strengthen connections between consumers and producers;
• establish and strengthen producer-to-producer connections and producer-to-supply chain connections 

Priority will be given to projects that benefit socially disadvantaged communities and/or socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. We strongly encourage projects that are led by individuals and/or community-based organizations from these groups.

We are interested in projects that build the capacity of farming and food systems businesses and organizations to become reflective, adaptive learning organizations that can respond effectively to ecological, economic, and social change and disruption.

Proposal categories

Proposals are requested for three types of projects:

• Planning Grants
• Education and Outreach Grants
• Applied Research Grants

Information about each category and examples of previously funded projects, can be found at https://sarep.ucdavis.edu/grantsFY21-22.  

Who can apply

Eligible applicants include farm or food system businesses operating in California, nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations operating in California, state and local government agencies, tribal governments, and California public and private institutions of higher education.

Applicants must demonstrate meaningful collaboration and involvement of stakeholders in the design and execution of the project. Priority is also given to projects that foster cross-collaborations between multiple types of applicants, contributing to a unified approach in addressing core areas of concern.

For more information and requirements, please visit the SAREP Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Small Grants Program webpage or contact Rachael Callahan at rmcallahan@ucanr.edu. 

 

2014 Bradford Rominger winner to be honored April 15

Each year the Agricultural Sustainability Institute at UC Davis recognizes one of our UC colleagues with the Eric Bradford and Charlie Rominger Agricultural Sustainability Leadership award.  Established in 2008 through gifts from family and friends, the award seeks to provide a lasting legacy of the unique contributions Eric Bradford and Charlie Rominger made through uniquely inspiring leadership in the field of agricultural sustainability. The intent of the award is to recognize and honor individuals exhibiting the leadership, work ethic, and integrity epitomized by Eric and Charlie. Awardees demonstrate leadership with a passion for service as they aim to improve the world through their contributions to agriculture.

This year, we are pleased to give the award to our Cooperative Extension colleague, Mary Bianchi, San Luis Obispo County director and horticulture farm advisor. Mary's nomination letter described her as “the ‘ultimate' farm advisor who does not hesitate to address the critical needs of her clientele, even if they require extending herself into new subject areas … She does so in the best sense of collaborative problem-solving, melding an easy-going, interpersonal style with astute professionalism that includes scientific rigor.” We couldn't agree more, and are delighted to present her with the award.

We will make the formal media announcement of the award just prior to the award ceremony. However, we want to invite Mary's colleagues and collaborators to extend their congratulations to her, both personally and through joining us in honoring Mary at our award ceremony. We would appreciate your help in spreading the word to the ANR family.  Details are below.

• Bradford Rominger Award Ceremony
• Tuesday, April 15, 5 p.m.
• Beuhler Alumni and Visitor Center, UC Davis
• Keynote speaker: food activist LaDonna Redmond

More information on the event can be found here.

Thomas P. Tomich
W.K. Kellogg Endowed Chair in Sustainable Food Systems
Director, UC Davis Agricultural Sustainability Institute (ASI)
Director, UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SAREP)
Host, Inter-Institutional Network for Food, Agriculture and Sustainability (INFAS) 
Professor of Community Development, Environmental Science & Policy

SAREP funds 14 projects

The Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program has funded 14 of the projects submitted for consideration in its 2011 competitive grants program.  

The projects range from exploring taco trucks as vehicles to provide healthy food in Central Valley communities with limited food access to a study of a collaboration between the City of Oakland’s Parks and Recreation Department and a local nonprofit that develops urban agriculture parks.

The 14 projects are being funded by UC SAREP for a total of approximately $150,000. 

“Seed funding for innovative food systems projects contributes to long-term impacts that are changing the face of food and agriculture in the state,” said Gail Feenstra, SAREP/ASI food systems coordinator.

For details about the projects, please visit http://asi.ucdavis.edu/newsroom/news.

SAREP offers competitive grants

UC's Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SAREP) has announced its 2010 Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Competitive Grants Program.

The $200,000 grant program is designed to encourage collaboration among individuals and groups working in agriculture. These can include farmers, ranchers, community groups and nonprofit organizations, public agencies, UC Cooperative Extension specialists and advisors, and students and researchers affiliated with California State University, University of California, and community colleges or other institutions of higher education. Each project must include at least one partner from county-based UC Cooperative Extension or a community-based stakeholder group.

Grant recipients are eligible for up to $35,000 in funding, depending on the type of project. Funding is available for four types of projects: planning grants, education and outreach grants, research grants and graduate student research grants.

Proposals are due by noon on Dec. 13. For more information, visit http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/2010RFP.htm.

 

Read more