FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OCTOBER 6, 2004
Southern University Ag Center Communications
P.O. Box 10010
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70813
(225)771-2242 / (225) 771-4374 Fax
www.suagcenter.com
Southern University Ag Center Assists
Small and Minority Producers through IFAFS Project
"SUAREC set for goat distribution ceremony"
The Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center (SUAREC) is set to
distribute more than 125 goats to small and minority producers as part of the Initiative
for Future Agriculture and Food Systems (IFAFS) Project on Friday, October 8, at 10 a.m.,
A.O. Williams Hall, in Room 191.
Under the Southern University Ag Center IFAFS Project, a core group of innovative and
motivated farmers with demonstrated leadership capabilities have been selected to serve as
participants, peer mentors, model farmers and advisors. These producers will receive 25
does, a buck and a starter kit that contains basic essentials in goat husbandry. The
participants have been and will continue to be introduced to and trained in identifying
opportunities in the emerging goat meat markets including value-added product development.
Various aspects of meat goat production, processing and marketing will be emphasized in the
training workshops.
Historically most small and minority producers have focused their efforts
predominantly on the production phase of the food industry, which is the segment of the
industry that receives the smallest portion of the food dollar paid by consumers. This
project will introduce entrepreneurial, management, and organizational skills necessary to
access post-production markets, including processing and marketing of added-value goat meat
products. The overall goal of the project is to create an opportunity for small and minority
producers to access a higher profit through vertical integration into multiple segments of
the market-chain. This will be achieved through producer education specific to goat
production, product development, capital access (financing and credit), access to state and
federal programs, business management skills and marketing. Since increased revenues and
sustainability are the rewards for responsiveness to consumer demand, product excellence and
increased production efficiency will be given special attention.
The IFAFS Project involves producers, cooperatives, and related small
businesses in the persistently poor Black Belt counties/parishes of the southeastern region
of the United States. Nine Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), SRDI Land
Based Centers, Arkansas Land and Development Fund, Federation of Southern Cooperatives, and
selected state and federal agencies are working cooperatively as partners in supporting the
goal of this project.
The IFAFS Project is funded for three years. At the end of the project
period, the Southern University Ag Center expects to see an increase in the number of
minority and small producers involved and trained in meat goat production, processing and
marketing; increased income of farmers participating in the project; increased effective
collaboration and networking among the partners; and development of retail and commercial
market outlets for goat meat products.
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