TU News Bureau
The College of Agriculture, Environment and Nutrition Sciences at Tuskegee University has been awarded a competitive USDA/NIFA grant of $2 million to strengthen organic farming infrastructure in the Southeast.
This multi-state, multi-disciplinary project includes the priorities of stakeholders for facilitating an organic agriculture initiative in the Southeast. The U.S. market for organic produce is estimated at $31.5 billion dollars.
With the exception of North Carolina and Florida, the Southeast remains behind in organic production and imports most of its organic produce from California, the Midwest, the Northeast, or Mexico.
With high consumer demands, organic growers have the potential to grow organic foods and sell them at competitive prices in local farmers markets and to retailers, provided that they are backed up by strong research and extension support programs.
Dr. Kokoasse Kpomblekou, the project director, and colleagues said that there are urgent needs to help residents of the Southeast improve their diets and health. The Southeast has among the highest incidences of…
