Nonprofits secure $4M in USDA Climate-Smart Commodities funding
Regenerative and climate-smart agriculture initiatives continue to gain traction in 2023, expanding their reach and gaining financial support, thanks to the USDA’s climate-smart agriculture grant funding.
The most recent project to gain support, nonprofit certifier A Greener World, with two partners, has been awarded a $4 million Climate-Smart Commodities grant from the USDA, which will fund a project that aims to increase regenerative farming practices accessibility and expand markets to small and underserved producers.
“We are thrilled to team up with RAFI-USA, Soil Health Institute and the farmers, partners and businesses joining this project to positively impact agriculture and increase access to regenerative farming resources and markets for underserved producers,” Emily Moose, executive director of A Greener World, said in a news release. “We look forward to expanding opportunities across the supply chain for farms implementing regenerative, climate-smart practices, resulting in positive, measurable benefits at the farm level and beyond.”
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Soil Health Institute and the Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA will assist as project partners. The project will help producers design their regenerative farm and emissions reduction plans, and it will seek to empower on-farm implementation and provide additional marketing support to participants.
“Our plan is designed to increase accessibility to regenerative farming practices and help underserved and small producers access new and existing markets. This dovetails with RAFI-USA's mission of encouraging the viability of small to mid-sized farming operations and supporting farmers of color who have historically been disadvantaged," RAFI-USA Executive Director Edna Rodriguez said in the release.
A Greener World will give customized marketing support to certified project participants and help producers become regenerative certified. RAFI-USA will offer technical support in regenerative plan development, while the Soil Health Institute will provide expertise and partner with farmers and ranchers to help build soil health and support reporting and measurement.
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“SHI is pleased to be partnering with A Greener World and RAFI-USA to support the adoption of regenerative systems that build soil health,” Dianna Bagnall, SHI’s research soil scientist, said in the release. “We look forward to serving as a technical partner to provide standard methods for measuring soil carbon, scaling soil health assessment, and collecting quality verification data.”
In addition to the project's three core partners, small and underserved farmers and ranchers throughout the Southeast will be recruited for the project and provided with technical, financial and marketing support on their journey toward regenerative farming and certification, according to the release.
USDA’s Partnership for Climate-Smart Commodities
The project led by A Greener World is a part of the second funding pool of the USDA’s Partnership for Climate-Smart Commodities, a historic $325 million federal investment in 71 new agriculture projects.
According to the USDA announcement, the major investment will deliver on its promise to:
- Expand markets for America's climate-smart commodities.
- Leverage the greenhouse gas benefits of climate-smart commodity production.
- Provide direct, meaningful benefits to production agriculture, including for small and underserved producers across the country.
