More than 100 attendees tuned in to virtual learning sessions designed to reach farmers with disabilities and provide information that can help them manage their limitations and succeed in production agriculture.
The AgrAbility/LIFE Project 1890s Land Grant Institution Virtual Workshop was held in one-hour sessions on Nov. 2, 5, 9 and 12. The NC AgrAbility Partnership Project hosted the events, which linked farmers, ranchers and farmworkers living with disabilities to a wide range of resources. The events were sponsored by the National AgrAbility Project, the LIFE Project, a collaboration involving the National AgrAbility Project, Legacy Farming and Health Group, and Peoples Foundation, and the NC AgrAbility Partnership. Other partners involved in the events included Legacy Taste of the Garden, Chef Joseph’s Kicksauce, and Pangea Farms.
Each day included a morning and an afternoon session and presented information on a wide range of topics, including an overview of the USDA AgrAbility program and its resources, perspectives from farmers with disabilities, assistive technologies on the farm, risk mitigation, innovative market options, and farming with cognitive or visual impairments.
“The past two weeks were jam-packed with experts and opportunities for farmers, service providers and partner programs to learn about AgrAbility,” said Beatriz Rodriguez, director of the NC AgrAbility Partnership with Cooperative Extension at N.C. A&T. “The participants really appreciated the chance to receive information about these valuable educational resources, even though the face-to-face workshop had to be canceled.”
AgrAbility was launched in 1991 with funding from the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). In 2011 N.C. A&T became the first 1890 land-grant university to be awarded with an AgrAbility grant. In past years an in-person regional workshop has been offered, however, with the event switching to virtual this year the focus was national, with participants including farmers with disabilities and those who serve them in the medical, rehabilitation, and engineering fields.
Although disabilities in farming don’t receive a lot of attention, farmers and ranchers rank second among laborers with disabilities from work-related accidents, according to the National AgrAbility Project. Although many people equate a disability with an amputation, spinal cord injury or an inability to walk, disabled farmers and ranchers might be veterans, people with disabling diseases, or those with arthritis, respiratory impairments, or vision or hearing impairments.
“If our agriculture sector is to thrive in the years to come, we must embrace those farmers, help them develop to their fullest capacity, encourage their work, and reward their successes,” said Rosalind Dale, Ed.D., associate dean and Extension administrator.
