AGRICULTURE AND LAND BASED TRAINING ASSOCIATION

Founded in 2001, the Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association (ALBA)’s mission is to create economic opportunity for aspiring, limited-resource farmers through land-based, organic agriculture education. ALBA seeks to promote human, community, economic and environmental health through investing in people and businesses which honor the connection between responsible stewardship of the land and human health. Our program offers a compelling model to address root causes of problems generated by the modern food system. These include farmworker poverty, health conditions stemming from direct pesticide exposure, birth defects and developmental disorders among farrmworkers’ children, chemical run-off into the water supply and carbons emissions which contribute to climate change.

To empower farmworker families in finding healthier and more prosperous lives, ALBA provides information, education and business training through three community level programs:

1. The Farmer Education Course (FEC) offers participants a year of hands-on education on organic production practices and farm business management. Each year, aspiring farmers and agriculture professionals enroll in the 1-year, 300-hour course which uses both classroom and hands-on field training to develop skills. The course welcomes guest speakers from the agribusiness and non-profit communities and organizes field trips to give participants exposure to farm ownership and career pathways in a pesticide free environment. Most of our participants come to the program with experience in conventional agriculture who have experienced the consequences of pesticide exposure and want to seek an alternative livelihood.

2. The Organic Farm Incubator is available to graduates of the FEC. ALBA leases 90 acres of farmland to 35-38 start-up organic farms. Land and equipment are offered at subsidized prices, and business, marketing, and production assistance is provided for free. Starting on 1/2 acre, farms expand up to five acres over four years before they transition off ALBA's land to continue farming independently. In addition, ALBA assists farmers with obtaining organic certification, complying with food safety regulations, facilitating marketing and sales, and connecting them to non-profit and for-profit business services.

3. The Food, Land, and Water program brings 1,000 4th and 5th graders to ALBA every year. The field trip teaches them about environmentally sustainable agriculture and the noble profession of farming. The program takes them to four different stations where they learn about the Central Coast ecology, soil health, herb gardening, and vegetables and hedgerows, interacting with resident farmers as they go. Students come from high-poverty school districts from Monterey County, such as Alisal Union in East Salinas.

Our fully-owned 100-acre organic farm offers fertile ground for new farm incubation and career development in environmentally sustainable agriculture. For those who choose not to pursue independent farm ownership, the skills developed at ALBA aid participants in landing better employment in the region’s fast-growing organic farming sector.