An urban gardening project focusing on a group of minority farmers in the Greater Baltimore area earned a 2023 Multistate Urban Extension Innovation Award from the Association of Northeastern Extension Directors. The burgeoning project experienced a six-fold increase in the number of participants in the past two years and is making an impact in the lives of Bhutanese Americans, many of whom live below the poverty line.
Spearheaded by Lila Karki, an assistant professor of agricultural economics and program evaluation specialist for UMES Extension, the project’s goal is to educate the small, socially disadvantaged, minority farmers on farm production economics and management to help strengthen their capacity.
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences is using 1890 funds for the project. Farmers are receiving support to promote “sustainable agricultural practices, improve productivity, reduce production costs and increase net farm income,” Karki said. “Ultimately, helping to improve their quality of life is the desirable outcome.”
The project was presented at the 2023 National Urban Extension Leaders Northeast Regional Conference from June 14-16 at the University of Massachusetts in Springfield.
Urban gardeners under the project are growing specialty and ethnic crops, including chili peppers, okra, stinging nettle, pointed melon/gourd, bitter melon/gourd, cowpeas, mustard greens, Colocasia, chayote, and ash and snake gourds. A few also have fruit trees, including pomegranate, Asian pear, banana, fig, Aronia berry and mulberry.
“Some (of the producers) grow around a dozen, and up to as many as 20, different crops on a single piece of land,” Karki said. “Workshops and meetings under the guidance of extension specialists cover topics, such as crop diversification, land preparation, application of manure, record keeping of farm activities, potential pests and diseases, and marketing fresh produce in the community.”
Gail Stephens, agricultural communications, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences, UMES Extension, gcstephens@umes.edu, 410-621-3850.
