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Farm and Food Business Development Education for Next Generation Latino Producers in Pennsylvania

Winifred McGee and Lynn Kime

Summary

In the past decade (2000 to 2010), the number of Hispanic residents in Pennsylvania has increased by 82.6%. A University of Michigan research report (2011) documented that Latino residents routinely experience certain barriers to self-employment: low levels of human and financial capital, education, language barriers, limited information about business start-up, working-class backgrounds/low levels of parental entrepreneurship and limited access to credit. Penn State Extension designed the "Farm and Food Business Development Education for Next Generation Latino Producers in Pennsylvania" program to begin breaking down barriers, empowering Latinos/Latinas with training in agricultural business concept selection, feasibility studies and strategic business planning, and farm and food business skills. Mirroring the New York City Greenmarket “GrowNYC” program (training immigrants in farm and food entrepreneurship), Penn State’s initiative began January 11, 2014 – with a one-day Agricultural Opportunities workshop attended by 33 would-be farmers (23 Spanish speaking/10 English speaking). Electronic interpretation equipment allowed all participants to hear the presentations in their native language, and discuss what they had learned. This pilot was embraced by the attendees – who requested follow-up educational meetings covering business, farm production and leadership skills. Four of the farm business Agricultural Alternatives publications have been translated into Spanish, supporting the project – with additional Spanish resources planned for the future. This poster session will provide an overview of this Penn State Extension project -- the presentations and immediate impacts documented by post-session evaluations. Through this presentation, participants will gain an awareness of, and access to, tools to launch similar projects in their communities.

Details

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