Accessing the American Farm Dream - INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE, INC.

ACCESSING THE AMERICAN FARM DREAM

Sponsoring Institution

National Institute of Food and Agriculture

Project Status

EXTENDED

Funding Source

OTHER GRANTS

Reporting Frequency

Annual

Accession No.

0219257

Grant No.

2009-39300-05890

Project No.

ARZW-2009-00742

Proposal No.

2009-00742

Multistate No.

(N/A)

Program Code

2501

Project Start Date

Sep 1, 2009

Project End Date

Aug 31, 2013

Grant Year

2009

Project Director
Vosper, J.

Recipient Organization
INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE, INC.
122 E 42ND ST 12TH FL
New York,NY 10168-1299

Performing Department
(N/A)

Non Technical Summary
Barriers Faced by Refugees in Arizona Refugees are especially vulnerable given their unique economic, social, and cultural challenges. Locating sustainable, high-paying employment is one barrier facing refugees in Arizona. Although gaining entry-level employment has not been a major obstacle for refugees resettling in the major cities of Arizona, these service industry jobs offer little chance for career growth. Many refugees come to the United States with skills that do not transfer easily into service sector jobs. They have difficulty transferring their education credits, licensing, and certifications from their countries of origin. An alternative that offers some short-term payoff - and even brighter long-term prospects - is the flexibility of farming. In just a few months, farming (with experience and education) can increase family incomes and achieve greater family self-sufficiency. Although there are mainstream agricultural providers in Phoenix, there are no specific training programs that address the needs of agricultural producers, let alone refugee agricultural producers. The programs that do exist, such as Cooperative Extension Service do not provide culturally or linguistically appropriate services, and are not structured to meet the unique needs of refugees. Refugees face specific challenges to starting a farm as follows: 1. Knowledge of the Agricultural Landscape-Marketing and Land Acquisition While most refugees in Phoenix - entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs alike - believe that starting a profitable business in America is easier than abroad, they remain uneducated about U.S. business practices, regulations, and basic starting points like seed providers and access to land. Another challenge reported by refugee business owners was the lack of access to credit. Most refugees have not been in the United States long enough to adequately build their credit histories in order to access mainstream lending sources that ordinarily assist with starting or expanding a business. Other refugees remain unfamiliar with the credit system and many inadvertently damage their credit. Even with a solid credit history, low-income refugees are often unable to collateralize loans or locate co-signers. When resettling in a new country, each refugee must create new relationships, including business relationships and networking opportunities. Without knowledge of how systems work and how markets are created, refugees are left behind their competitors. Using training, involving mainstream community providers, and guiding refugee producers into the creation of their own partnerships will drive their success further. Linguistic barriers provide an additional challenge. Lack of language acquisition, particularly technical business English, can provide a significant barrier to refugees attempting to locate long-term employment or navigate the lengthy and complex U.S. business environment.

Animal Health Component

(N/A)

Research Effort Categories

Basic

(N/A)

Applied

100%

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
601	6030	3030	100%

Knowledge Area
601 - Economics of Agricultural Production and Farm Management;

Subject Of Investigation
6030 - The farm as an enterprise;

Field Of Science
3030 - Information and communication;

Keywords

Goals / Objectives
1. Outreach and Training to Provide Access to Mainstream and Government Programs IRC will engage 900 stakeholders in refugee agriculture (300/year); Train (workshops or on-farm training) 300 refugees (100/year); Assist 45 refugee producers to apply for government or mainstream agricultural services (15/year). 2. Training and Technical Assistance in Production and Marketing IRC will provide workshop training to 60 refugees on marketing (20/year); Provide 60 producers one-to-one technical assistance in production (20/year); Assist in the creation of 60 marketing plans and help producers implement them (20/year); 120 new market opportunities will open for refugee producers (40/year); Increase the income of participants by 15%. 3. Development of Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Outreach, Business Development, and Production Tools IRC will develop or modify existing tools to bridge gaps for refugee producers with limited or no-English skills and/or literacy skills; materials that will be developed include a production plan, record keeping tools, and materials to showcase five relevant government programs; Disseminate those materials to 20 other refugee farming programs; 60 producers implement tools for use on their farm (20/year); 45 producers will utilize these tools during their application of services (15/year).

Project Methods
While it is helpful that participants speak English at a conversational level for selling at markets, IRC recognizes that some participants may have difficulties with technical terminology. The major technical assistance component the program coordinator will be responsible for is production assistance aimed increasing marketability (sizing, packaging) as well as marketing assistance. Refugee producers have been able to grow produce in Arizona successfully; however, a barrier for their produce to have expanded marketability lies, in large part, to sizing and packaging issues. Refugees are not used to the standardized retail marketplace in the United States. Participants applying for loans will receive intensive one-on-one assistance from IRC program staff, both in writing a business plan and creating a loan application package. Continuing to develop the Arizona Refugee Farmers' Association will give refugee producers the opportunity to have a greater voice in their community. Although broad concepts will be shared through workshops, most of the training will be demonstrated on-farm or through one-to-one technical assistance.The primary goal of developing linguistically and culturally appropriate tools will be critical for program success. IRC will focus on developing materials that deal with five relevant USDA programs. In addition, production tools, such as a production plan and record keeping tools will include developing materials that use written language sparsely. Instead, these tools will be primarily pictorial. Refugee producers, who are literate in their own language, but not English, will be able to use them to keep records. In either case, the program will offer services to turn transfer the records into formats that are appropriate for use in mainstream services, such as applying for organic certification, applying for an FSA loan, or helping a refugee file their taxes. The FARM Project will utilize Down Home's new software to track participation. Down Home is a nationally recognized software program that tracks loans made, but has recently piloted software that tracks program outcomes including client contracts, business starts, business expansions and strengthening, and loans. Program results data will be gathered through the following methods: Focus groups will be implemented at the beginning of the process to assess need and prioritization of participants wants. Pre- and Post-Evaluations will be given for all workshops and one-to-one technical assistance to determine changes in knowledge and skills. Participant Self-Evaluations will be given throughout client involvement to gauge satisfaction with the project and to determine changes in knowledge, skills, and the usage of mainstream services. Case files will be maintained for farmers enrolled in the FARM project and starting an agricultural business. Records of assistance will be maintained. Quarterly interviews will collect marketing outcomes. Annual interviews will collect implementation and financial data, as well as participant perceived program success. After annual interviews, program staff will analyze data to implement program design changes.

Progress 09/01/10 to 08/31/11

Outputs
OUTPUTS: The International Rescue Committee, Inc. (IRC) has been implementing the "Accessing the American Farm Dream" initiative through its New Roots Farm and Food Security Program (NRFFP). The primary goal is to promote and increase the economic self-sufficiency of refugees through the creation, expansion or strengthening of refugee-owned agricultural businesses. The following progress report is a summary of accomplishments in year two. Objective 1. Outreach and training to provide access to mainstream and government programs. In year two, 200 one-page fact sheets that provided a brief explanation of the farm program and farming opportunities were disseminated to different communities; five informational sessions were conducted; 26 new clients were enrolled to the program. The program engaged more than 500 stakeholders involved in refugee agriculture including the farm advisory committee, business networks, agricultural workgroups, universities and refugee communities. Through these stakeholders the 26 new refugee farmers and gardeners accessed farm land, donated seeds and tons of soil amendment materials. The new farmers also connected to different market avenues around the greater Phoenix area to sell their produce. This occurred primarily at the six farmers' markets; Ahwatukee, Downtown Phoenix Public Market, Mesa Community, Roadrunner Park, Old Town Scottsdale and Twilight Farmers' Market. The 53 active farmers, gardeners and ranchers accessed mainstream and government programs including IRC's microenterprise program, individual development accounts, Farmers Market Promotion Program, USDA-Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). Trainings and business development support were also provided by program staff and invited guests on US agriculture and business development skills necessary for successful farm entry and expansion. Objective 2. Training and technical assistance in production and marketing. The program has provided training workshops and hands-on training to 259 participants; 109 participants received training in agricultural production and protection; 42 in marketing; and 108 in agricultural management including exploring the American farm dream, record keeping, business plan, basic financial management, USDA-National Organic Program (NOP), soil and water management, and seed conservation and distribution. The program provided one-to-one technical assistance for 61 refugee clients with crop planning, record keeping, good agricultural & handling practices, marketing plans, sourcing equipment and supplies, land access, and permits and regulations. Farmers and ranchers also assisted in the creation of 50 marketing plans and accessed new marketing opportunities. Objective 3. Development of culturally and linguistically appropriate outreach, business development, and production tools. Tools were created and translated to advise producers in business planning, record keeping, cash flow and market search. These outreach tools were also disseminated to other refugee farming programs across the country (San Diego, California; Baltimore, Maryland; Salt Lake City, Utah; Louisville, Kentucky). PARTICIPANTS: Jon Vosper has been responsible for overall guidance and administrative purposes as the Project Director (PD). Mr. Vosper has worked with IRC since 2003 managing the Community and Economic Development Program that includes: Financial Education, Individual Development Accounts, Microenterprise Development, Employment and the New Roots Farm and Food Security Program. Prior to working with IRC, Mr. Vosper worked as a financial advisor for UBS and AIG. Worku Belew has been working as the New Roots Farm and Food Security Program Coordinator at the IRC since 2009. Prior to that, Mr. Belew worked for over fifteen years as an agricultural researcher and production supervisor in various capacities in Ethiopia. Mr. Belew has a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture, Master of Science degree and Doctor of Philosophy in Agronomy. Mr. Belew has been responsible for the coordination of training workshops, providing training and technical assistance in production and marketing, helping farmers and ranchers connect to resources and networks, and developing and disseminating production planning and marketing tools. In the second year, the program worked collaboratively with a wide community and business network including: Farm Advisory Committee, Arizona Refugee Agricultural Work Group, Farmers Markets, USDA Agricultural Officers, Cooperative Extensions, Universities, Donors, Native Americans, Volunteers, Churches, Rotary Clubs, Microenterprise Program, Individual Development Accounts Program, Media Outlets and various initiatives. Land access, donations of materials and volunteer labor were garnered through the support of this committee, groups, communities and business networks. They helped refugees to access resources to increase their knowledge of mainstream and government programs, learn about US agricultural practices, business development and seek out and obtain assistance from USDA programs. A Farm Advisory Committee has continued helping refugee producers by promoting community connections and providing resources to the program. The Arizona Refugee Work Group has helped refugee farmers and ranchers by promoting community integration, connection to the local food system and promoting sustainable refugee agriculture. The network with University of Arizona enabled farmers to gain deep knowledge on record keeping, cash flow, and business plans. Farmers received direct training in land and capital acquisition, and assistance in production techniques and organic farming regulations from Maricopa Cooperative Extension. Collaboration with the USDA Farm Service Agency enabled farmers and ranchers to gain knowledge of different procedures and learn sustainable agricultural practices. Partnerships within IRC Phoenix allowed farmers and ranchers to access the microenterprise program and individual development accounts to obtain loans and match grants for their farming activities. TARGET AUDIENCES: IRC's New Roots Farm and Food Security Programs have been enhancing the nutritional, social, economic, and environmental health of refugees. The purpose of the New Roots Farm and Food Security Program is to increase the number of refugee-owned agricultural businesses, the number of market opportunities for their farm businesses, refugee access to mainstream and government programs, refugee access to financing and credit opportunities for new agricultural businesses, and refugee farm business generated income. The program has provided refugee produces access to culturally and linguistically appropriate outreach support, agri-business planning and training, environmentally friendly agricultural production practices, and feasible business start-up and expansion assistance. On average, 600 new refugees arrive in Arizona through IRC office in Phoenix each year, seeking protection from persecution and in search of freedom, peace, and opportunity for themselves and their families. With many refugees coming from agrarian societies (Bhutan, Burma, Burundi, Cuba, Somalia, Sudan, and Uzbekistan), the number of refugees aspiring to become farmers and ranchers is increasing annually and demographic indicators suggest that this trend is likely to continue. With such great numbers arriving, farm programming is essential to the successful integration of these new arrivals into the community and to start or expand farm businesses as an economic livelihood. Evidently, coupled with language barriers and traditional labor practices, U.S. agricultural production systems can be unfamiliar; marketing, pricing, and start up loans are often difficult to obtain; and access to farmland can be limited. To address such challenges, the IRC's New Roots Farm and Food Security Program continues providing service in training, technical assistance and access to resources to help refugees adjust to their new country through "Accessing the American Farm Dream." The program encourages refugee farmers to start small, take advantage of increasing demands for niche, specialty and organic crops and encourages them to take advantage of appropriate loans. As the project continues, more refugees are connected to USDA programs through expanding their operations through Farm Service Agency (FSA) loans. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Accessing the American Farm Dream project resulted in the following outcome/impacts: Objective 1. Outreach and training to provide access to mainstream and government programs. Refugees became aware of the goals and objectives of the USDA sponsored NRFFP. Through this awareness refugee owned agricultural businesses increased; access to loans and other resources were augmented; connection to farmers markets, stores and ethnic markets were enhanced. The 20 new refugee families from Bhutan and Burma have benefited from the garden to supplement their families' diets. With significant training and technical assistance, gardeners were growing many culturally-desirable crops for their families and, thus, extending their food budgets. Gardeners have exchanged and/or given gifts of crops amongst refugees belonging to the same ethnic group, church or community organization, and have also sold at farmers markets. Six new aspiring refugee farmers from different African and Asian countries started a new farm enterprise as economic livelihood and started to generate income from their produce this year. Objective 2. Training and technical assistance in production and marketing. The feedback obtained through surveys and questionnaires indicated that training in production, marketing and record keeping, business plan training, and technical assistance improved their knowledge of the subject matter and changed their habits significantly. These enabled 50 growers to successfully produce dozens of vegetables, made it possible to access different marketing opportunities and distributed their produce to different market routes. As indicated by the participant service satisfaction survey, all workshop participants reported being satisfied with the training and technical assistance provided in production and marketing, and 86% on the whole service provided by the NRFFP. After frequent training workshops and technical assistance on marketing, 82% of attendees reported that they had their own market search and connected to 3-5 ethnic markets (Chinese, African and Arabic); 60% of the respondents reported that they had confidence to meet the specific requirements of their targeted outlets/markets as compared to only 6% last year. While only 33% of participants could describe the marketable product prior to the workshop and one-to-one technical assistance, 67% were able to after the workshop; 67% of the participants reported that they kept their farm record as compared to only 4% last year. Objective 3. The development of culturally and linguistically appropriate outreach, business development, and production tools. The program has made significant progress in increasing producer knowledge of principles and techniques such as record-keeping and business plan development. The tools and training materials created were also translated into different languages and the outreach tools were distributed to other refugee farming programs across the country, which created an awareness of the farm program sponsored by USDA-OASDFR Grant.

Publications

No publications reported this period

Progress 09/01/09 to 08/31/10

Outputs
OUTPUTS: The IRC New Roots Farm Program has made significant progress in the creation of opportunities for refugee farmers and ranchers to successfully acquire, own, operate and retain farms and ranches. The following output report is a summary of accomplishments to date, in accordance with the proposed objectives of the OASDFR grant. Objective one was outreach and training to provide access to mainstream and government programs. In year one, 500 one-page fact sheets that provides a brief explanation of the farm program were disseminated to different communities including 14 groups of refugees (Uzbeks, Somali, Sudanese, Liberian, Burundi, Bhutanese, Iraqi, Thai, Burmese, Sir Lankans, Nepali, Iranian, Togolese, and Congolese). Seven information sessions were conducted. Currently, there are 42 enrollees and 21 percent of them are female. The program has assisted farmers and ranchers to establish community and business networks to open access to mainstream and government programs. A Farm Program Advisory Committee is one of the main entities in place to help refugee producers by promoting community connections and providing resources to the program. Through this committee and networks farmers accessed more than 140 acres of farm land and more than 60 tons of donated soil amendment materials; 36 farmers and ranchers accessed mainstream and government programs including the Micro-Enterprise Program, Individual Development Accounts, Farm Service Agency, and Cooperative Extension; and 32 farmers connected to different market routes, such as farmers markets, ethnic markets, produce stores, and whole foods. Objective two was training and technical assistance in production and marketing. In the first year, the program has provided training workshops and hands-on farm training to 150 farmers and ranchers (50 percent above the plan) on business plans (19), record keeping (16), cash flow (21), farm operation and production plan (48), marketing (16), and on-farm training on production (30.) The program provided one-to-one technical assistance for 36 (80 percent above the plan) refugee farmers with record keeping, business planning, marketing plans, sourcing equipment and supplies, land access, and permits and regulations. Farmers and ranchers also assisted in the creation of 36 marketing plans (16 percent above the plan) and created more than 36 new marketing opportunities. Objective three was the development of culturally and linguistically appropriate outreach, business development, and production tools. Tools were created and translated for production planning, record keeping, cash flow and market research and provided to 36 farmers. These outreach tools were distributed to other refugee farming programs across the country (Baltimore-Maryland, San Diego-California, Seattle-Washington, Tucson-Arizona). PARTICIPANTS: Jon Vosper has worked with IRC since 2003 managing the Financial Education, Individual Development Accounts, Microenterprise Development, and the New Roots Farm and Food Security Programs. Prior to working with IRC, Mr. Vosper worked as a financial advisor for UBS and AIG. Jon Vosper has been responsible for overall coordination and administrative purposes as the program director. Worku Belew has been working as the New Roots Farm Program Coordinator at IRC Phoenix since 2009. Prior to that, Worku worked for over fifteen years in the fields of agriculture as an agricultural researcher in Ethiopia. Worku has a PhD degree in Agriculture. Worku has been responsible for coordinating training and technical assistance in the New Roots Farm Program. Worku participated to USDA 2010 Cooperators Conference. The program worked collaboratively with a wide spectrum of entities including: service agencies, markets, lending partners, consumers, and the existing refugee community. The program has assisted farmers and ranchers to establish community and business networks to provide access to mainstream and government programs. The program engaged stakeholders including: refugee communities, Arizona Refugee Agricultural Workgroup, Arizona Refugee Farm Association, Farm Advisory Committee, universities, donors, Native Americans, Farmers Markets, Micro-Enterprise Program, Individual Development Account and the larger communities. The Farm Program Advisory Committee is in place to help refugee producers by promoting community connections and providing resources to the program. The committee has worked alongside program staff and has led to some significant resources. Since 2009, the developments of the Arizona Refugee Farmers' Association and Arizona Refugee Agricultural Workgroup have been ongoing. Land access and donations of materials were garnered through the support of the committee and such networks. As a result of collaborative works with the cooperative extension agents from the University of Arizona, farmers received training and other assistance in production techniques and organic farming. In addition, production problems were identified and solutions were recommended. The network with Arizona State University enabled farmers to gain deep knowledge on record keeping, cash flow, and business plans. Connections to different market routes, such as: farmers markets, ethnic super markets, stores, and whole foods have allowed farmers to sell their produce at different sites and generate income. Partnerships within IRC Phoenix allowed farmers and ranchers to access the micro-enterprise program and individual development accounts to obtain loans and match grants for their farming activities. Collaboration with the USDA-Farm Service Agency (FSA) enabled farmers and ranchers to access loans, gain knowledge of different procedures, and learn sustainable agricultural practices. Farmers obtained guiding materials such as: Farm Business Record Book, Arizona Specialty Crop Guide, and New Scrapie Eradication program from USDA-FSA. TARGET AUDIENCES: The IRC Phoenix New Roots Farm Program (NRFP) was initiated through funding from the USDA-Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers Competitive Grant (OASDFR) to provide Arizona's refugee farmers and ranchers with valuable farming resources and assistance. The primary goal of the New Roots Farm Program is to promote and increase the economic self-sufficiency of refugees in Arizona through the creation, expansion, or strengthening of refugee-owned agricultural businesses with the following main objectives: increase the number of refugee-owned agricultural businesses; increase market opportunities for the farm businesses; increase access to mainstream and government agricultural programs; increase access to financing and credit opportunities for new agricultural businesses; and increase the farm business generated income of refugees living in Arizona. The majority of refugees resettled in Arizona come from rural areas and cultures where agriculture was the primary source of income or food. Countries such as Bhutan, Burma, Burundi, Cuba, Somalia, Sudan, and Uzbekistan are comprised of refugees primarily with agrarian backgrounds. With such great numbers arriving, farm programming is an obvious essential for successfully integrating these new arrivals into the community. The program has helped them with training, technical assistance for both business development and agricultural production, access resources to increase their knowledge of mainstream programs, learn about US agricultural practices and business development, seek out and obtain assistance from USDA and other government programs. Since its inception NRFP has strived to provide Arizona's refugee farmers and ranchers with culturally and linguistically appropriate outreach; technically sound agri-business planning and training; environmentally friendly agricultural production practices; and feasible business start-up and expansion. IRC Phoenix has made significant progress in increasing producers' knowledge of principles and techniques of farm record keeping and business plan development that helps farmers and ranchers adopt new techniques and production practices. By providing training, one-on-one technical assistance, and other essential information, the program continues developing, promoting, and expanding direct marketing of agricultural commodities from refugee farmers to consumers. Refugee farmers, through additional technical assistance, were able to sell their own products directly to consumers. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
The program helped increase the number of refugee-owned agricultural businesses in Arizona while increasing the income and market opportunities for refugees and their businesses. Farmers' readiness to becoming independent and enhancing integration into the community are the other desired positive outcomes. As a broader community impact, these outcomes encourage other members of the community to start farming and/or gardening. This atmosphere also creates improved mutual understanding and new skills related to agri-business development and marketing. Objective one was outreach and training to provide access to mainstream and government programs which resulted in the following outcomes/impacts: Allowed refugee farmers to become more aware of the goals and objectives of the USDA sponsored OASDFR-New Roots Farm Program; Allowed clients to make an informed decision before enrolling in the program; and helped producers access USDA-farm service agency and gain knowledge of different procedures and sustainable agricultural practices. Objective two was training and technical assistance in production and marketing which resulted in the following outcomes/impacts: Helped refugee farmers to understand standard production and marketing practices; Allowed participating farmers and ranchers to upgrade their level of understanding of farm objectives, resources needed, financial and time commitment, record keeping, agri-business and market planning; Enabled refugees to keep their farm/ranch production records updated daily; As a result of on-farm training on organic farming, growers utilized cover crops and successfully produced vegetables such as broccoli, okra, spinach, lettuce, radishes, peas and carrots; Enabled farmers to access different marketing opportunities and distribute their produce to different market routes such as farmers markets, stores, and ethnic markets; additionally the feedback obtained through questionnaires from participating farmers indicated the record keeping workshop, business plan training, and technical assistance improved their knowledge of the subject matter and changed their habits significantly. 53 percent rated the overall training as excellent, 35 percent as good and 12 percent as average. Objective three was the development of culturally and linguistically appropriate outreach, business development, and production tools which resulted in the following outcomes/impacts: The tools and training materials created were also translated into different languages and disseminated to farmers; The information also helped farmers to form weekly timelines, which show when certain production and marketing activities will take place; The tools helped participants to know supply of agricultural input, the production and transformation of agricultural products, and their distribution to final consumers; and the outreach tools distributed to other refugee farming programs across the country created an awareness of the program.

Publications

G, LINDSEY. 2010. Together in a strange new land. Uzbekistan refugees bond while farming as they start over in US. August 11, 2010. Tri Valley Central. http://www.trivalleycentral.com/articles/2010/08/13/trivalley_dispatc h/top_stories/doc4c619ddd091db005902433.txt
G, Laura. 2010. Raising goats, raising dignity. Enterprise program helps Somali family build a new life. August 5, 2010. The Arizona Republic http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/arizonaliving/articles/2010/ 08/05/20100805refugeestore0805.html
L, Bill. 2010. Somali Bantu Farmers Say Asantu. Hickmans Family Farms. July 2010 News Letter. http://www.hickmanseggs.com/newsletters/july2010.pdf
K, Daniel. 2010. The Amazing James Golo Family Farm. Refugee Agricultural Promotion Projects Blog, 28 Apr 2010. http://www.ised.us/blog/rapp/amazing-james-golo-family-farm