Grow Your Own Meal, Inc.’s Post

#Immigrants are the backbone of the #agricultural #foodprocessing and #foodservice industries in #America. Access these stories elucidating the #ingenuity, #resilience and #efficiencies central to immigrants helping to nourishing our communities. https://loom.ly/ngfRL98

Empowering Farmers through Modern Agricultural Practices 🌱🚜 On November 19, 2024, the Brahmanbaria Welfare Center successfully hosted a training session under the project titled "Recovery and Advancement of Informal Sector Employment (RAISE): Reintegration of Returning Migrants." The training focused on agricultural extension and the use of modern agricultural machinery, equipping participants with the knowledge and tools to enhance productivity and adopt sustainable farming practices. Special thanks to all the organizers and participants who contributed to making this session impactful. Initiatives like these are crucial for ensuring the development of the agriculture sector and creating opportunities for returning migrants to reintegrate into the workforce effectively. #Agriculture #Sustainability #Training #Empowerment #RAISE #Development #Bangladesh #ReturningMigrants

NEW: Alejandro Gutierrez-Li, Ph.D. examines the critical role of #immigrant farmworkers in U.S. #agriculture, highlighting their importance in maintaining food production for a growing population. It also analyzes the growth of the H-2A and TN #visa programs and examines the challenges, trends, and opportunities that can help inform effective agricultural labor policies. https://lnkd.in/gFvSyQ7W

🌿 Decent Work is central to the philosophy of organic farming and to OCA’s mission. On this #InternationalDayOfRuralWomen we are launching our Decent Work Strategy, aiming to improve working conditions and protections for organic cotton farmers, farm workers, and their communities. At OCA, we believe that all farming communities should be empowered to access their rights and secure decent livelihoods. Our strategy focuses on ensuring living income and wages; eliminating unlawful child labour, bonded and forced labour; improving health and safety on farms; ending discriminatory practices; and providing access to social protection and worker representation. It’s time to drive meaningful change across the sector and create a future where decent work is a reality for farmers and farm workers we support. 👉 Learn more and download our Decent Work brochure: https://lnkd.in/g4pjQ6nQ #decentwork #strategy #farming #communities #organiccotton

Check out this insightful article on farm labor shortages, a long-term challenge facing #USagriculture, and the role of immigrants in the industry. The article comes from Alejandro Gutierrez-Li, Ph.D., a affiliate of the N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative and faculty member with the NC State University Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.

Despite the cold outdoors, greenhouses across Ontario are already working hard to ensure consumers have a steady supply of fresh, local food on their tables this winter. Thousands of workers from Mexico and the Caribbean began arriving this month at greenhouses in the Leamington area, Niagara and other parts of Ontario under a seasonal labour program that is critical to the success of the province’s thriving fruit and vegetable industry. This is the 58th year, the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP) has operated in Ontario, helping growers affected by a chronic shortage of domestic labour to fill vacancies. In total, roughly 18,000 workers are expected to be placed at about 1,100 Ontario farms this growing season. The greenhouses supply a significant portion of our fresh, local produce sector and is very important to Ontario’s economy. Without this program to supplement local labour, the greenhouse industry wouldn’t be able to function effectively and we’d lose a valuable food source. SAWP is a “Canadians first” program, which means supplementary seasonal farm labour is hired from partner countries only if farmers cannot find domestic workers willing to take the same jobs. 

Principle of Fairness: "Organic agriculture should build on relationships that ensure fairness with regard to the common environment and life opportunities." Fairness encompasses so much. #FoodSecurity is very important to us, and we try to do our part to reduce food waste.  Through our partnership with Second Harvest and other food rescue organizations, we are able to divert good food that would have otherwise been wasted for aesthetic reasons. (Hungry bellies don't care that the carrots looked twisty!)  We can't talk about fairness without talking about migrant workers.  The Season Agricultural Worker Program is a valuable program that means Canadian farmers have access to a workforce when there are not Canadian workers to meet their needs.  And it means employment for people from countries who are not as economically fortunate.  However, in order for the program to be fair to those involved, significant systemic changes are needed.  Access to the benefits (such as EI) that are paid into, a pathway to permanent residency, and not being tied to one specific employer are the key changes that would result in greater fairness for these workers who make the sacrifice every year to grow the food that Canadians eat. Committing to action on the Truth & Reconciliation Calls to Action is a key aspect of fairness in Canada. We are proud to share land with Crow Shield Lodge, a local Indigenous led organization that strives to build a thriving community through Indigenous land-based healing and education.  Its core foundations are unity, equality and understanding.  Can't say fairer than that. #OrganicMonth #OrganicMonth2024 #COTA #Organic #CanadaOrganic #Truth&Reconcilation #MigrantWorkerRights #FoodWaste

Sea lice challenges are not a thing of the past despite the improvements in handling and well boat treatments. Further reductions in available medicines increases the need to maintain a supply of farmed Ballan wrasse as cleaner fish. The benefits of fish with known provenance and health status farmed in a sustainable way are well known. Yet it would appear that this is being ignored in favour of more well boat treatments and the risks to fish welfare. Ballan wrasse farmers invest in their stocks for a long production cycle while salmon farmers do not want to commit or support this investment. After all the millions of pounds spent on developing the techniques and systems to produce these fish it seems strange to so quickly forget about the benefits of effective cleanerfish management.

🌱 Empowering Indigenous farmers and nourishing future generations in Guatemala 🌱 Our @WFP teams are committed to supporting #Indigenous communities, as you can read in this article from #Guatemala. There, we've seen how connecting smallholder farmers, many of whom are Indigenous, with the national school-feeding programmes, has helped provide nutritious meals to schoolchildren but also empowered local farmers like Heydi Ajú. Heydi, a member of the Kaqchikel Indigenous Mayan people, is one of the many farmers enrolled in the programme and her fresh, locally-grown vegetables are now a staple in school meals, helping to combat malnutrition and foster a deeper connection to the land. This initiative is just one testament to the power of local procurement and community-driven solutions. By sourcing 70% of school meal ingredients locally, we are reducing carbon footprints, supporting local economies, and preserving cultural traditions. 🌍💚 https://lnkd.in/dJj7tYpb

Empowering rural women and youth in the avocado value chain is crucial for their economic inclusion and improved livelihoods. In Kenya, avocado contract farming highlights the challenges and opportunities for small scale producers, including women and youth. Contracting farming has become essential in for smallholders to meet local and international food safety, quality and traceability standards, as well as access to attractive markets and benefit from export opportunities. However, contract farming is not sufficient to enhance the inclusion of smallholders especially where contract terms are unclear. To increase inclusion, there is need for additional support and capacity development. #contractfarming #RuralInclusion #WomenandYouthInAvocadoProduction