Project Overview
Immigrant and refugee beginning
farmers face critical barriers to success, including lack of access to land,
training, and markets, compounded by language barriers and limited support
systems. The New Roots and Shoots project is an effort of the
International Rescue Committee’s immigrant and refugee farmer programs in Salt
Lake City, Tucson, and Seattle. The project assists 120 socially disadvantaged
beginning farmers to gain skills, resources, and opportunities to enter and
improve their farm businesses through intensive, individualized assistance in agricultural and farm business development. The project works across 5 main objectives: (1) improve
farmer crop production and food safety practices through on-farm training, 1:1
technical assistance and language-specific or language-free video production; (2) increase
farmer revenue through providing training in
marketing practices and developing new market links; (3) develop infrastructure and productive resources on 19
acres of peri-urban farm incubation land; (4) assist farmers to adopt crop and
financial recordkeeping practices; and (5) enhance farmer support networks
through farmer-to-farmer training events and communities of practice.
Number of Participants: 120
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Reports & Evaluations
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Individual Stories / Examples of Success