From farm to market: Rhode Islanders start agricultural careers

Farmers as a whole in Rhode Island are facing some challenges. According to Rhode Island Land Trust Council, the state has lost over 80% of its productive farmland since the 1940’s. Today, Rhode Island’s farmland has the highest cost per acre of any state in the...

9.01.16

Farmers as a whole in Rhode Island are facing some challenges. According to Rhode Island Land Trust Council, the state has lost over 80% of its productive farmland since the 1940’s. Today, Rhode Island’s farmland has the highest cost per acre of any state in the country.These high prices threaten farming as a whole in the state, and make it harder for Rhode Islanders to have access to fresh, local produce.   “It’s hard to purchase farmland in Rhode Island. Rhode Island has the highest priced farmland in the country, averaged $13,600 per acre. But we also have a vibrant and growing number of young and beginning farmers, so we would want those farmers to stay here, not have to go elsewhere to buy cheaper land,” said Ken Ayars, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management’s Chief of Agriculture. One way the state is looking to solve these problems for farming is by its new Farmland Acquisition Program, which would allow farmers to voluntarily sell their land to the state, which will protect the land and sell it to other farmers. That way, the land stays preserved, and farming continues. Another way Rhode Island is addressing farming needs is through a nonprofit called the Southside Community Land Trust. SCLT was recently awarded nearly $600,000 in federal funding to help the state’s beginning farmers. One of the main goals of the grant is to get younger people involved in farming, as the average age of the American farmer is 58, according to the USDA.  The Southside Community Land Trust predicts that the grant will serve over 425 beginning farmers and ranchers. One way the funding will be used is to connect beginning farmers to land, so they don’t have to face high market prices. “We’re a small state so we don’t really have any traditional rural areas.  It’s also that a lot of the best farmland, the most fertile land, is coastal, so the development pressure is really high,” said Laura Bozzi, SCLT’s Farm, Food, and Youth Programs Director. SCLT has several incubator farming sites, where beginning farmers can go through training.  At these incubator sites, which are located in South Providence, Olneyville, and Pawtucket, beginning farmers can lease out small plots of land to get started.   As these farmers look to expand, the SCLT has a 50-acre farm in Cranston. The farm has shared equipment which Bozzi said builds a sense of community, and helps beginning farms be financially viable. “We’re building small plots there that will be training sites, about a quarter of an acre. That’s still a lot compared to the small urban plot, but it’s a lot less than a full farm for themselves, so it’s a stepping stone. We’re building pathways,” said Bozzi. Another way that SCLT is building pathways for Rhode Islanders to become full-time farmers is by training growers how to sell their produce at farmer’s markets. Tbe Southside Community Land Trust has a training booth at the Sankofa World Market, which for the past two years has taken place every Wednesday on Elmwood Avenue.   IMG_3600 “Plantamos las papas, tomates, kale, pepinos, las auyama, menta…” said Margarita Martínez, introducing her produce at a SCLT table.  Margarita and her husband Teodulio Martínez are from the Dominican Republic. They’re growing in the West End of Providence, and said they are hoping to expand to beekeeping, which they did back when they lived in the DR. Like Margarita and Teodulio, a lot of growers who use the Southside Community Land Trust are immigrants. The diversity of growers using SCLT is representative of the neighborhood where the Sankofa Market takes place.  “The West End is a community of people, who 40% are born outside of the United States, so at Sankofa Market, we want to really celebrate the diversity of people in this neighborhood and the skill sets that they bring here,” said Adeline Newbold, who runs the market through the West Elmwood Housing Development Corporation. Bozzi of the Southside Community Land Trust said immigrant farmers have different needs while learning how to grow and sell their products. “The needs for new Americans to learn how to become an entrepreneur in the US, it’s different than an American-born person.  So we teach our programs with ESL, English language learning, in mind. We’re providing different kinds of programs, given that we’re working with folks that have different levels of English and writing proficiency,” said Bozzi. As growers set up their tables at the market every week, learning the tricks of the farming trade, Newbold said other community members are having their first experiences at farmers markets too. “What’s really cool about this market is that we get a lot of people who have never been to a farmers market before, people who just see it walking by,” said Newbold. IMG_3599 She said that there’s a common misconception that farmer’s markets are expensive. The Sankofa Market offers incentives through SNAP, a federally funded program that helps low-income households pay for nutritious food using an Electronic Benefits Transfer card.  At the market, for every $5 you spend with your EBT card, you get an additional $2 worth of fresh fruits and vegetables. Here in Rhode Island, there are many areas that don’t have supermarkets close by, so it can be hard to access fresh produce. The Southside of Providence, where the Sankofa Market is located, is one of these areas. One Southside Community Land Trust worker said this is the one of the only places people can buy produce, like squash and herbs, that lead to dishes on the table.
More Articles