Project Grant 20247702841619

This $716,559 federal Project Grant awarded on October 1, 2023 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Enhancing Agricultural Opportunities for Military Veterans Competitive Grants Program (CFDA 10.334) will allow North South Institute, Inc. to build upon an existing veteran small farm business incubator program. Specifically, the funding will establish three new and expand four existing veteran business incubators and compensatory work therapy networks (VBI, CWTN) across seven clusters, each involving five lead nuclear veteran farmers (LNVF) and three to five veteran outgrower apprenticeship producers (VOAP). Over the three-year project period, this will engage a total of 70 veteran producers and their families in agriculture and agribusiness through informal training and technical assistance for capacity building. Key objectives include providing follow-up support to participants, expanding recruitment of female veterans and military family members, delivering disaster risk mitigation assistance, and offering coaching on business development, agribility, and agritherapy for post-traumatic stress disorder.