Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** the hmong american farmers…

Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** the hmong american farmers association (hafa) is requesting a cooperative agreement with USDA to provide outreach and technical assistance to historically underserved farmers and ranchers. Our work addresses all five priority areas: assisting farmers in owning and operating successful farms, improving the participation of underserved farmers and ranchers in USDA programs, building solid relationships between our constituency of underserved farmers and USDA staff, using innovative outreach and technical assistance techniques designed specifically for immigrant farmers to introduce agricultural information to underserved farmers and hosting program specifically designed for socially disadvantage/ underserved youth to learn about agriculture in rural areas.hafa is an experienced 501(c)3 organization created in 2011 to give hmong farmers in minnesota a collective and critical voice in conversations around agriculture, food supply chains and wealth creation. The mission of the organizationis to advance the economic, social and cultural prosperity of these farmers and their children and grandchildren by focusing on increasing access to land, new markets (to augment farmers markets), capital, credit, research and trainings. Unlike other organizations that may work with hmong farmers only once or twice a year at conference workshops, hafa works year round and has multiple interactions with its committed membership of hmong farmers. Hafa is the only organization is minnesota (and the only one we know if in the country) that was founded by and is led by hmong americans solely for the purpose of advancing hmong farmers and their families.inspired by hafa, hmong farmers and their partner organizations in several other states have contacted hafa staff, interested to learn how they could develop a similar training program for themselves. At the same time, young members of the hmong community whose families chose not pursue farming upon immigrating to american, are also now wanting to better understand the strong pull of farming in hmong culture, and explore agriculture as a career. Our project involves both increasing the depth of our existing work with farmers, and expanding our work to four new geographic areas as well as developing a special program for youth.to date, only a handful of hmong farmers have been able to qualify for USDA or FSA programs. For immigrant farmers, the significant language and cultural barriers make participating in USDA or other public or private programs to assist small farmers largely inaccessible. Our proposal addresses the language and cultural challenge by offering programming to hmong farmers in the hmong language and in many cases, delivered by members of their own community - a critical factor that differentiates our programs from others and enhances our rate of long-term success.hafa was founded by farmers from the community base being served. This history leads to stronger relationships, better participation in trainingevents, and greater confidence that our guidance will be followed. Many other programs simply train farmers in agriculture or hand them flyers with a USDA logo on them and leave the farmers to fend for themselves; we know that immigrant farmers need an advocate and an ally in order to access USDA programs and market opportunities, and we make sure we are that advocate/ally. We are trusted allies, and well-placed to introduce immigrant farmers to the opportunities that USDA programs can offer, and guide them through the process. Our goal is to support the expansion of these underserved farmers and ranchers to become viable commercial enterprises through the delivery serviceprovidedwhile linking to USDA programs to assist in this process.