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California Young Farmer Political Leadership Fellowship

Posted: May 12 2020

Applications are due June 1, 2020 for the National Young Farmer's Coalition (NYFC) fellowship, California Young Farmer Political Leadership. Read on to learn more and apply!

From NYFC: "The California Farmer Political Leadership Fellowship aims to support farmers of color in holding positions within governance bodies that affect their farms and communities. To assist farmers in successfully and sustainably filling these roles, farmer fellows will learn about the policy-making process and power-dynamics involved, gain skills in coalition-building, and more-fully draw from their internal, ancestral, and community power."

"Farmers, particularly our young farmers of color, need the power to shape their conditions to work sustainably, live healthfully, and thrive. Though our country was founded by farmers, the increasing wealth gap between large, corporate farms and small and mid-size independent farms has drowned out the voices of the latter. Our country was also founded on the dehumanization and disenfranchisement of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), the same people who tended, stewarded, or cultivated our agricultural lands. To shape policies such that they support all our farmers–our essential workers–we need to ensure farmers of color lead our agricultural policies and programs."