Urban AG Certificate And Fellowship Program

If you think in terms of a year, plant a seed; if in terms of ten years, plant trees; if in terms of 100 years, teach the people.

Through our Urban Ag Certificate and Fellowship program, we are certainly planting seeds and we are planting trees, but most importantly we are teaching people. And, if you like to eat you should be glad we are. The average age of farmers is 58 years old, less than 5% of our country’s farmers are of color and women are underrepresented in the field, yet simultaneously agriculture is the largest industry in our state and the demand for locally grown food is so great that it is not currently being met.

As we look to our local community, we must consider the needs of the Richmond region and how our local food system impacts all of us. It can’t be ignored that collective research tells us that the children born in our city are not born into a place of equity – a child born in the East End is predicted to live 20 years less than a child born just a few miles away in the west end of our city. Why is this? It’s not because of the care they receive within the walls of our hospitals – that care is excellent in both locations. Instead, it is opportunities to play safely outside, to have basic access to real food, to have opportunities for a good education and great jobs that provide self- sufficiency and independence that generates true health.

We recognize incredible opportunities to bridge these disparities while cultivating a new generation of urban farmers. Tricycle’s Urban Agriculture Fellowship and Certificate program is the first program of it’s kind designed in partnership with the USDA- Natural Resources Conservation Service. Urban Ag fellows dig in with Tricycle staff, subject matter experts from USDA, VA Tech, Rodale Institute, Roots of Success, Small Business Association and others for an 11-month term that provides formal instruction and hands-on experiences grounded in the business of sustainable urban agriculture.