HISTORY OF SMALL FARMS RESEARCH CENTER
ALABAMA
UNIVERSITY
The Small Farms Research Center at Alabama
A&M University (AAMU) was first conceived
in 2000 with funding from USDA’s Office of
Outreach authorized under Section 2501 of
the 1990 Farm Bill. The Center is devoted to
issues affecting the family farm and assessing
how such issues impact profitability and overall sustainability of small farm operations.
AAMU’s 2501 project (a.k.a. Small Farmers
Outreach Training and Technical Assistance
Project) received its initial funding in 1994.
As project staff and faculty grew in numbers
and became diverse and activities more complex and holistic in nature, the need for a Center to conduct sound and targeted research,
provide quality education and effectively deliver outreach training to underserved agricultural producers became increasingly inevitable. Thus, the Small Farms Research Center
was initiated in 2000 to conduct research and
provide services throughout Alabama, with
special and particular outreach emphasis on
21 underserved counties in north Alabama.
Small Farms Research Center
Alabama A&M University
4900 Meridian Street
James I. Dawson Building Room #219
P.O. Box 700
Normal, Alabama 35762-0700
Tel: 1-866-858-4970
Fax: 1-256-372-5517
A&M
Business Planning and
Marketing Education for Hard
to Reach Urban Gardeners,
Inner-City Youth and Beginning
Vegetable Growers
Small Farms Research Center
Alabama A&M University
CONTACT INFORMATION
Dr. Duncan M. Chembezi
Director & Professor
Alabama A&M University
(256)-372-4970
E-mail: duncan.chembezi@aamu.edu
Ms. E’licia L. Chaverest
Assistant Director
Alabama A&M University
(256)-372-4958
E-mail: elicia.chaverest@aamu.edu
Mr. JaMarkus C. Crowell
Program Assistant
Alabama A&M University
(256)-372-4424
E-mail: jamarkus.crowell@aamu.edu
Mrs. Bhargavi (Esther) Pucchakayala
Program Assistant
Alabama A&M University
(256)-372-4424
E-mail: bhargavi.pucchakayala@aamu.edu
Small Farms Research Center
Alabama A&M University
4900 Meridian Street, James I. Dawson Bldg. #219
Normal, Alabama 35758
Office: (256) 372– 4970
Office: 1 (866)-372-4970
United States Department of Agriculture
Office of Advocacy and Outreach (OAO)
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Rural Development
This project was funded by the Southern
Risk Management Education Center.
Project Number: 10490
2014 Education Project
Business Planning and Marketing Education for Hard-to Reach Urban Gardeners, Inner-City Youth and Beginning Vegetable Growers
OVERVIEW
The Business Planning and Marketing
Education for
H a r d - t o
Reach Urban
Gardeners,
Inner-City
Youth
and
Beginning
Vegetable
Growers project addresses
the
unique
business
planning and
marketing
education
needs of urban community gardeners, inner city
youth and beginning producers who are transitioning
or converting to vegetable production.
Aspiring minorities, youth and hard-toreach urban gardeners face unique challenges, including unfamiliar marketing
channels, limited resources, lack of access to capital and markets, inadequate
enterprise budgets information, and
complex production requirements. A
business plan is a critical tool to ensuring producers have aligned their marketing production, and financing capacities/strategies in ways that minimize
risks.
TARGET AUDIENCE
PROPOSED RESULTS
This project will provide targeted
marketing education and business planning training for 10 inner-city youth, 28
hard-to-reach urban gardeners and 20
socially disadvantaged beginning producers converting/transitional to vegetable production.
Participants will Learn, Achieve and
Apply
•
•
•
The training involving workshops, group
meetings and one-on-one mentoring
sessions, will be based on modules developed early in the project. The target
audience are individuals in and around
four urban centers including
•
•
•
•
Huntsville,
Birmingham
Montgomery
Mobile
•
•
•
Alternative Market Channels for
Fresh Produce
Adopt Marketing Strategy and Plan
Increase knowledge of the production and post-harvest handling requirements of common vegetable
crops.
Develop Comprehensive Business
Plan
Understanding and Appreciation of
Business Planning and Farm
Financial Management Technique
Training Workshops & Group
Meetings-Local Markets & Re-
To learn more about the Small Farms Research
Center’s project titled Business Planning and
Marketing Education for Hard-to Reach Urban
Gardeners, Inner-City Youth and Beginning
Vegetable Growers and other programs and services