Urban Agriculture
From what was once Singapore’s largest prison complex - the Queenstown Remand Prison, housing about 1,000 inmates at its peak; an 8,000 square meter urban farm, Edible Garden City (EGC), now bursts with colorful vegetables and fragrant herbs. Co-founded by local resident Bjorn Low in 2012, EGC is one of Singapore’s first urban farming initiatives and is located inside the former prison compound. It is one of several efforts in the city-state to strengthen the island’s food security at a grassroots level. “Our goal was and is to encourage more locals to grow their own food and thus help strengthen the city’s food resilience,” says Sarah Rodriguez, EGC’s head of marketing. Follow this link to learn more.
Sourced from: Next City
While women can be drawn into farming for many reasons, researchers in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences have found that female-owned farms in the U.S. are more common in areas that are closer to urban markets, that engage in agritourism activity, and that offer greater access to childcare.
The number of farms operated by women has risen over the past two decades, said Claudia Schmidt, assistant professor of marketing and local/regional food systems. The U.S. Department of Agriculture changed the way it counts the operators of farms in its most recent census of agriculture, allowing for up to four principal operators per farm. This has inflated the number of female operators somewhat, but female participation in agriculture is nonetheless at an all-time high, said Schmidt. Follow this link to read more.
Sourced from: Morning Ag Clips
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced six additional locations for Farm Service Agency (FSA) county committees focused exclusively on urban agriculture.
Organized under USDA’s Office of Urban Agriculture, the new committees in Atlanta, Dallas, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New Orleans, Phoenix, and St. Louis join ones in Albuquerque, NM, Cleveland, OH, Philadelphia, PA, Portland, OR, and Richmond, VA. (announced earlier this year) and are part of a broader effort directed by the 2018 Farm Bill for USDA to enhance support for urban agriculture.
“County committees play a critical role in representing farmer priorities at the local level,” Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation Bill Northey said. “These six FSA county committees will provide input and priorities unique to the opportunities and challenges of farming in urban environments.” Follow this link to learn more.
Sourced from: Morning Ag Clips
In May 2020, Western Center for Metropolitan Extension & Research (WCMER) and National Urban Extension Leaders (NUEL) hosted listening sessions related to NIFA developing an Urban and Emerging Agriculture grant program. The Western Experiment Station and Extension Directors have formally created a development committee with a charge to establish a Western Urban, Indoor, and other Emerging Agricultural Production Research, Education and Extension Initiative to facilitate and promote multi-state research and extension projects. Anyone, including those outside the Western Region, interested in joining this effort (all aspects of the food system including production, marketing, distribution, access, equity, and resource recovery) are encouraged to do so. Follow this link to learn more.
Sourced from: ECOP Monday Minute
Extension Directors and Administrators are invited to network and engage with expert panelists who will present multiple strategies that support the sustainable development of commercial and community-focused urban agriculture. Joining ECOP Chair Chris Watkins will be Anu Rangarajan, Director of the Cornell Small Farms Program, and Brad Gaolach, Washington State University Extension, Director of Metropolitan Center for Applied Research & Extension (WCMER). The event is taking place Thursday, December 10, 2020, at 3:00 p.m. EST. Follow this link to learn more.
Sourced from: ECOP
Tags: Newsletter, Urban Agriculture
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