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Contact: Sally Gifford, 202-720-2047
WASHINGTON, Jan. 11, 2017 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s
(USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) today
announced $540,000 in available funding for State and regional projects
that provide education, assistive technology and other support to
current and prospective farmers and ranchers with disabilities. Since
1991, NIFA’s AgrAbility program has helped
thousands of individuals with disabilities, including older farmers and
veterans, achieve success in agricultural occupations.
“Whether you are an experienced farmer facing
mobility issues or a veteran starting a new career in agriculture, AgrAbility works with the Cooperative Extension
System and nonprofit disability organizations to open doors to people
with disabilities,” said NIFA Director Sonny Ramaswamy.
“The AgrAbility network gives health, farm
and government service providers tools to provide greater access to the
agricultural profession.”
This funding opportunity will support the
development of new State and regional AgrAbility
Projects that help providers build their capacity to serve people with
disabilities. Projects also directly provide assistance to
people with disabilities. Eligible projects focus on the following:
- Education
– Projects help health, farm and government service providers
develop or evaluate educational resources on accommodating
disabilities and avoiding secondary injuries in persons with
disabilities.
- Networking
– Projects support information sharing among customers, peer
supporters, volunteer groups, funders and other
stakeholders.
- Assistance
– Projects offer consultation services to AgrAbility
customers and their farm operations to help them achieve success.
- Marketing
– Projects promote awareness of AgrAbility
resources for eligible individuals.
The deadline for applications is February 15,
2017.
See the request
for applications on NIFA’s AgrAbility
web page for more information.
AgrAbility projects
are competitively funded for four-year periods. Continued funding of a
project is dependent on the availability of funds each year and the
demonstration of satisfactory annual progress. All proposals include
specific, measurable accomplishments for each project year. NIFA
currently is funding 21 active AgrAbility
projects.
Currently funded projects include the National AgrAbility Project (NAP) and 20 state and
regional AgrAbility projects.
Earlier projects include one by University
of Tennessee Extension that provides briefings to the
Tennessee Department of Veterans Services, direct education to farmers,
farm workers and their families, webinars on assistive technology, and
youth safety events. Colorado
State University runs the Colorado AgrAbility
Project, delivering education, workshops, marketing and outreach
to veterans through collaboration with state and local
veteran service agencies.
In the video The Next
Mission, retired U.S. Marine Jon Turner describes how AgrAbility helped him transition into farming at
Wild Roots Farm in Vermont. “I ended up linking with people in AgrAbility and that has been really wonderful
because it’s not just working with veterans, it’s working with people
with all types of disabilities and all types of backgrounds and they’re
all farming different things,” said Turner. “Now I’m in the process of
developing a veterans regenerative
agricultural program … to help them be involved in farming and
gardening that also acts as horticultural therapy.”
NIFA invests in and advances innovative and
transformative research, education and extension to solve societal
challenges and ensure the long-term viability of agriculture. NIFA
support for the best and brightest scientists and extension personnel
have resulted in user-inspired, groundbreaking discoveries that are
combating childhood obesity, improving and sustaining rural economic
growth, addressing water availability issues, increasing food
production, finding new sources of energy, mitigating climate
variability and ensuring food safety.
To learn more about NIFA’s impact on
agricultural science, visit www.nifa.usda.gov/impacts,
sign up for email
updates or follow us on Twitter @usda_NIFA, #NIFAimpacts
#
USDA is an
equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.
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