Program areas at RAFI USA
Agricultural enterprise development:farm sustainability: rafi provides multiple services to small and mid-scale farmers to improve farm viability. Our resources for resilient farms project provides plain-language information, farmer trainings, and one-on-one assistance for usda programs that would support greater farm resilience for farmers' operations, especially within rafi-usa's farmers of color network. Other supports to farmers include the climate smart certification project and more.farmers of color network: in 2017, rafi-usa founded the farmers of color network (focn) to more intentionally support black, indigenous, and people of color (bipoc) farmers in the southeast with the goals of improving their economic viability, keeping their land, and gaining generational investment. In 2022, focn expanded our service reach to puerto rico and the u.s. virgin islands. Focn provides farmer-led technical assistance, market access opportunities, webinars, farm tours, networking events, and gatherings to highlight ancestral traditions and knowledge.
Come to the table - come to the table is a multi-faced program that empowers faith communities to participate in the creation of a just food system through collaboration, capacity building, and advocacy. The program works with faith communities, hunger relief advocates and farmers and delivers conferences and events, technical assistance, training focused on building equity in the food system, and collaborative networks and resources, and the school for food justice, faith and storytelling.
Farm advocacy: farm advocacy provides assistance, develops tools and resources, and promotes policies that help farmers attain greater financial stability and encourage thriving and sustainable small and mid-scale family farms. The program educates farmers about managing risk and equips them to navigate federal farm programs. The program provides individual counseling and assistance to farmers facing financial crisis and who stand to lose their farms without immediate support.
Just foods: from promoting meaningful standards for organic agriculture, to pioneering new standards for social justice in the food system, just foods projects seek to make fair, sustainable farming a viable choice. Protecting agricultural genetic diversity is also essential to the viability of family farms. Therefore, just foods advocates for funding for classical breeding programs and support publicly-held seeds and breeds. Within the just foods program are the projects: southern farmers seed cooperative and nc seed stewards.
Challenging corporate power: challenging corporate power works to hold corporations and government accountable to curb the adverse effects of livestock concentration and build alternative, inclusive livestock economies that equitably distribute profits across farmers, Rural communities, and consumers. The fiscally sponsored project, campaign for contract agriculture reform (ccar) is included as part of this program.
Stretegic programming/policy: rafi-usa develops policy recommendations and public comments and advocates on both the legislative and regulatory levels that are essential for creating a fairer, more just agriculture and food system that works for all. Our policy work is directly informed by stakeholders and the lessons we learn as we provide farm advocacy, technical assistance and other services to farmers and community members.
Fiscal sponsorships- rafi-usa provides fiscal sponsorship services to help facilitate the mission-related work of partner initiatives that lack the legal status or administrative capacity necessary to receive grants or donations rafi serves as fiscal sponsor for the following groups:durham farmers market's double bucks program-double bucks is an incentive program at the durham farmers' market that provides dollar for dollar matching funds for purchases made with snap, wic fmnp, and senior fmnp benefits.campaign for contract agriculture reform - ccar is a national alliance of organizations working to provide a voice for members and ranchers involved in contract agriculture, as well as the communities in which they live.