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Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Sustainable agriculture could improve health, economy for rural areas

"Sustainable agriculture has the potential to create jobs in rural communities, to increase access to healthy food choices for low to moderate-income families, to serve as a catalyst for community development, to be a starting point in the sensitive discussion of environmentalism in rural communities, to operate as advocacy for migrant farm workers, and to give people from diverse backgrounds the chance to learn a valuable and respected trade," writes Todd Brantley, associate communications director for MDC, a nonprofit research firm in North Carolina. Writing for The Daily Yonder, Brantley tells how rural communities can capitalize on the sustainable agriculture movement sweeping suburbs and urban areas.

There are barriers to rejuvenating a movement that started in rural areas years ago, not out of trend, but necessity, Brantley writes. Access to land, education and training and markets are the top three. He says the movement is more than a return to "a bygone era of simplicity and determined self-sufficiency" because it can subvert rural communities' reliance on convenience, which has undermined growing one's own food. "The economic and physical rewards of growing one’s own meals are too often outweighed by the quick and inexpensive option of a restaurant’s dollar menu," Brantley writes. "The goods in chain supermarkets, prepackaged and often precooked food that’s sometimes been shipped far across the country or even from another continent."

For this movement to take hold in rural areas, Brantley says local political leaders will have to find ways to promote locally grown produce and make it available in markets accessible by rural growers. School systems can also start farm-to-school programs to place fresh, local foods on the lunch menu. Hospitals, community colleges, prisons and military bases could create similar programs, which would provide local growers with a consistent market. He discusses other methods of promotion: "Rural community colleges can offer certificate and degree programs in sustainable agriculture, including courses in business and marketing. Funding or tax incentives can be adopted to attract minority or beginning farmers to rural communities, helping them get established by purchasing land or finding affordable options for leasing." (Read more)

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