The AGCO Agriculture Foundation (AAF), a private foundation with a vision to prevent and alleviate hunger through sustainable agricultural development, today announced a grant of US$ 50 mil to Providence Farm Collective (PFC) to support the implementation of a holistic on-farm composting system and optimization of post-harvest efficiency and food security on their 37-acre farm in Orchard Park (USA).
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AGCO Agriculture Foundation Awards $50,000 Grant to Providence Farm Collective. Funds will support refugee and under-resourced communities to grow food and improve food handling and safety practices. (Graphic: Business Wire)
PFC is a non-profit organization that supports refugees, immigrants, people of color and low-income farmers in western New York who may not otherwise have access to farmland. The organization began in 2017 as a grassroots effort by the Somali Bantu community to return to their agricultural heritage and cultivate fresh, culturally important produce. The PFC has now grown to encompass refugees and immigrants from various nations and members of the black community.
Existing CBP programs provide a place for refugee and low-income communities to grow their own food, earn supplemental income and teach their cultural farming traditions to future generations. This project will help increase the food production and income of the CBP’s many farmers by improving sustainable farming practices and soil fertility through on-site generation of well-balanced compost. In addition, the project will facilitate capacity building and support post-harvest efforts and food safety practices for farmers.
“Refugee and immigrant communities often lack socio-economic opportunities. Supporting agricultural activities like the CBP project can help refugees not only secure access to farmland, but also create pathways for them to produce food and improve their livelihoods,” said Roger Batkin, Chairman of the Board of the AGCO Agriculture Foundation. “Farmers and their communities are crucial to our foundation’s efforts to prevent and alleviate hunger. We hope participating farmers will also improve their food safety practices and strengthen their market opportunities.”
To achieve the project’s one-year goals, the CBP will manage a composting operation, including a nitrogen-rich cover crop planting, and provide individual technical assistance and hands-on demonstration. The non-profit organization will also develop visual aids and signage for its farmers to improve their knowledge of best practices and standard operating procedures for safe and efficient post-harvest food handling.
With financial support from the AAF, the PFC will purchase the equipment needed to generate compost on site, including a flail harvester, tipper trailer, litter and compost spreader, and mulch seeds, and invest in compost analysis testing. . Compost application will increase soil organic matter and improve soil moisture retention, sustainably increasing farmer yields and soil health. During the project, PFC will work with its nine communities of refugees, immigrants and black farmers, which total 275 people and operate 21 small farms.
“Through AAF support, we will focus on increasing soil organic matter and improving soil moisture retention to ensure our farmers’ yields reflect the enormous amount of time and effort they spend on their farms. Farmers also spend most of their time harvesting and post-harvesting. As such, improving post-harvest practices and food safety will have a crucial impact on the bottom line for PFC producers and the financial viability of their small businesses,” explained Kristin Heltman-Weiss, Executive Director of PFC.
About AGCO
AGCO (NYSE:AGCO) is a world leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of agricultural machinery and precision farming technology. AGCO delivers customer value through its distinctive portfolio of brands, including Challenger®, Fendt®, GSI®, Massey Ferguson®, Precision Planting® and Valtra®. Powered by Fuse® Smart Farming Solutions, AGCO’s full line of equipment and services help farmers sustainably feed our world. Founded in 1990 and headquartered in Duluth, USA, AGCO had net sales of approximately $12.7 billion in 2022. For more information, visit www.AGCOcorp.com. For company news, information and events, follow us on Twitter: @AGCOCorp. For financial news on Twitter, follow the hashtag #AGCOIR.
Sobre a AGCO Agriculture Foundation (AAF)
The AGCO Agriculture Foundation (AAF), an entity of AGCO Corporation (NYSE: AGCO) created in 2018, is a private foundation with a vision to prevent and alleviate hunger. The foundation initiates impactful programs that support food security, promote sustainable agricultural development, and build much-needed agricultural infrastructure in marginalized farming communities. AAF is domiciled in Vaduz (Liechtenstein) and operations are managed in Duluth (USA). For more information access
Sobre o Providence Farm Collective (PFC)
Providence Farm Collective is a non-profit organization that believes in empowering fair and equitable access to food and farmland. It cultivates community-rooted, farmer-led agriculture and food systems to realize the rights of resource-poor people. The CBP has its roots in the Somali Bantu Community Farm, a three-year pilot project. The pilot explored the challenges and opportunities of addressing fresh food insecurity and farmland inequality. PFC supports low-income farmers in western New York who need access to clean, rural farmland, agricultural and business education, technical assistance, access to markets, and the opportunity to farm for income. For more information, visit www.providencefarmcollective.org
The original language text of this announcement is the official authorized version. Translations are provided as a convenience only and must refer to the original language text, which is the only version of the text that is legally binding.
View the original version on businesswire.com:
Contact:
Aryn Drawdy, Director of Corporate Communications
[email protected]
Kristin Heltman-Weiss, Executive Director
[email protected]
Source: BUSINESS WIRE
