Sacramento – September 23, 2019 – The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is pleased to announce the availability of the new Farmer Resource Portal, which was designed to help farmers and ranchers have better access to information to help them in their agricultural operations. Here is the link: https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/farmerresources/
This website is a site that gathers resources for farmers and ranchers to find information on the financing and loans available, as well as programs that prioritize the financing of farmers who have been socially disadvantaged, beginning farmers, businesses run by women, veteran farmers and urban farmers. In addition, there is a list of quick links to information to help farmers and farmers better understand the regulations and policies of the CDFA.
“I hope this site is useful for farmers, ranchers and groups that work with them,” said Karen Ross, CDFA Secretary. “Most of the information was already available, but this portal makes it simple and convenient to navigate and keeps all the key information in one place.”
The resource portal for farmers was developed based on the law of Assembly (AB) 1348 (Assemblyman Aguiar-Curry), the Farmers Equity Act of 2017 (Farmer Equity Act). This law requires that CDFA guarantee the inclusion of socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, in the development, adoption, implementation and application of food, agriculture laws, regulations, policies and programs.
The Farmers Equity Law defines a socially disadvantaged group as one composed of individuals who have been subject to racial, ethnic or gender bias due to their identity as members of a group without regard to their individual qualities.
There is a growing number of socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers in rural and urban areas and the CDFA Counselor on Farmer Equity Advisor and in matters with the tribes is working to ensure that these farmers have a voice in the policies and programs that affect their livelihoods, as well as access to information and resources for their agricultural operations.
The website includes new links to CDFA’s social networks in Spanish and press releases in English and Spanish. It is also expected to have an interactive map of California of technical assistance providers that can help farmers, and include assistance in several languages. This will be a valuable resource for farmers who need assistance in languages other than English.
This portal is just one way that the Farmers Equity Law is being implemented in CDFA. In January 2020, the CDFA will submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature on efforts to serve socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers and California farmers.