Youth Farm In Hawaii Is Growing Food And Leaders

Canada is quickly approaching a farming shortage, as elder farmers look to retire from the practice with no succession plan in place for future generations. Yarrow Ecovillage, a land-sharing project, may be the answer to the impending food-insecurity issue that will accompany this decline in farm production.

Community-led urban farms in Jakarta empower residents to transform underused city spaces like alleyways and campus grounds into productive local food sources. These initiatives often blend traditional gardening with community organizing, educational outreach, and sometimes smart technology or agricultural research to improve food access, enhance green space, and foster local resilience.

In an effort to protect and promote Nepal’s local, or traditional, crops, the Raithane Koseli Ghar initiative gathers and sells the hard-to-find seeds. The initiative also provides support and education to farmers looking to grow them.

In the U.S., a movement of Black farmers is trying to reclaim their legacy as agrarians. Only 1.7 percent of farms were run by Black farmers according to the U.S. Census of Agriculture. Black farmers are forming collectives, creating land trusts, creating conferences.

The Life Do Grow Farm in Philadelphia, run by the nonprofit Urban Creators, is a two-acre plot that yields food needed to feed the community who might not be able to make ends meet. Since June, the farm has distributed 65,000 pounds of produce, along with free children’s meals. But the farm is also a community gathering space for artists and entrepreneurs. While the land’s lease runs out in 2022, the nonprofit hopes to own it and highlight it as a “reimagination of city land, a radical collaboration in the service of empowering Black and brown communities in North Central Philly,” said the farm manager.

By using an agricultural technique that doesn’t use soil to grow crops, a farmer is upending the traditional farming practices in Nigeria and offering job opportunities to those who might otherwise be unemployed. Hydroponics farming is a type of horticulture that grows plants without soil by using mineral nutrient solutions. BIC Farms utilizes the method, which can reduce crop water consumption, and has trained more than 12,000 people on the soilless farming technique. Hydroponics can also help farmers reduce food waste and post-harvest losses.

With the average age of the American farmer at 57.5 and the number of farmers over 65 outnumbering farmers under 35 by a factor of 6 to 1, many are worried about a severe shortage of ecologically-minded young farmers to take over from the older generation. To address this gap, states and institutions are launching initiatives like debt-free agricultural college, tax incentives, and loan programs.

To cope with and combat gentrification, residents of Miami's Little Haiti neighborhood created a community garden called the Femme Fairy Garden, founded by Fempower. Community members come together every Sunday to tend to their plants and connect with their neighbors.

Agroforestry has become a powerful tool in El Salvador communities and is helping farmers grow crops they otherwise wouldn't be able to. The practices which has played a major role in bringing cacao back to the region, is also beneficial for the climante and ecosystem.

Sustainable agriculture and farming is on the rise on a national level, but it's not often so simple to get into the practice, especially for those that are new to the U.S. A farmer training program based in Washington County, Minnesota is trying to change that by enrolling a small group of interested Somali-Americans in a curriculum focused on becoming the next generation of farmers in America.