Alexander Velikoretskikh, with the help from Mercy Corps Northwest, has been able to gain agricultural skills and connections in the local farming community. Photo Credit: Mount Burns for Mercy Corps Northwest

Drew Katz is the Project Coordinator for the Refugee New Agriculture Project. This Project is an initiative of Mercy Corps Northwest, which assists low income individuals in the Portland-Metro area by providing farmers with the necessary agricultural skills and connections to thrive in the local farming community. Drew has a BA in Sociology and Anthropology with a focus on Development from Lewis and Clark College. In both Kenya and Ecuador he has worked in rural communities on sustainable agriculture projects. Drew has worked for Mercy Corps Northwest since December 2006.

What is the Refugee New Agriculture Project?

The project provides assistance to refugees and immigrants, both new and existing farmers, in the Portland Metro region. It started three years ago with a group of Somali women but was not very successful. In 2006 a group of Turkish farmers were able to effectively start farming and it has now expanded to include Ukrainians, Russians, Hmong and more. We offer business training, agricultural education and access to land and resources for people to start farming and building market connections.

Can you describe the training you provide in more detail?

We provide one-on-one business classes and teach farmers the basic skills they need to grow their farm into a profitable business. Our agricultural education is taught by both Mercy Corps Northwest staff and local organic farms and organizations like Oregon Sustainable Agriculture Land Trust (OSALT). Along with teaching farm tips and skills the refugees and immigrants are taught how to obtain an organic certification achievement.

"We offer business training, agricultural education and access to land and resources for people to start farming and building market connections."

How do you help provide program beneficiaries access to land?

Mercy Corps has local partnerships with four different land owners all within 20 minutes of Portland. The land is sometimes donated or available through lease, rent, or sharecropping. Often times Mercy Corps will pay for the first year so farmers can concentrate on production, and ideally farmers will be able to pay the next year. We are extremely generous the first year because it requires a lot of money to build a profitable business and takes time to generate income.

How do you provide market connections?

We have made connections in the local community at farmers markets. These markets provide a starting point for farmers to meet with a market manager on pricing and market tips for the market and eventually sell their produce at the market. Hayat Farms and Farmers, who are Meskhetian Turks, currently are in their second full season of farming and sell produce at the Portland Farmers Market. The Interfaith Food and Farms Partnership provide farm stall space at congregation locations. And I also stop by grocery stores and restaurants to see who wants to buy local produce.

Are restaurants and grocery stores receptive to this?

Yes, they want to support sustainable agriculture. It's also a great selling point for a restaurant or chef to be providing local produce. Terroir Restaurant and Wine Bar here in Northeast Portland had a fundraiser where the proceeds went to the Refugee New Agriculture Project. A portion of the money went to a new farmer, Alexander Velikoretskikh from Ukraine, for things like seeds and irrigation. He has now been in Portland for 8 months and is selling his produce to Terroir.

"Farming offers a variety of opportunities for refugees to gain control over their lives."

What are other positive aspects of this program?

Most importantly, the program promotes self-employment and income generation. Typically, there is no room for growth in most of the jobs these refugees and immigrants have access to here in the US. Farming offers a variety of opportunities for refugees to gain control over their lives. In many ways farming helps foster family involvement. Kids are often helping with the business which keeps families together and allows kids to build their English language skills as they help with daily business interactions. Farming also promotes food security and community integration. And although for a lot of people farming may not be the American Dream, for many refugees and immigrants this is a way to continue a livelihood they are familiar with and enjoy.

What are some of the programmatic difficulties?

There are often language and cultural barriers; translators are needed regularly. Many farmers either have experience with producing or selling and now they have to do both. It is also difficult to instill the habit of record keeping; we have to remind the farmers the importance of receipts. A big obstacle is that land owners have short leases, which create insecurity. Farmers are hesitant to invest in the soil since they don't have any guarantee that they will get to farm the land the next year.

How would you like to improve the program?

We would like to expand to all of Oregon and more of Washington. And also make the program available to all small farmers not just refugees and immigrants.

For more information about the New Refugee Agriculture Project visit: Refugee New Agriculture Project






Contributed by Cami Martin, a writer for Global Envision. Cami has a BA in English from the University of Oregon and works for Mercy Corps.

To read another Global Envision article about sustainable agriculture, see Field ‘Schools' Help Farmers Become Sustainable.



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