Central State University is recruiting farmers for a $5 million federal grant to grow higher yields of fruit and vegetables while lowering planet warming emissions.
The $5 million grant for the program was the highest dollar amount offered from the United States Department of Agriculture.
Program leaders are now in the process of recruiting 20 farmers in Ohio and Southeast Michigan.
According to Dr. Ibrahim Katampe, principal investigator on the project, those 20 farmers are just the beginning of what he hopes will become a widespread practice.
“We're not going to alter your ways, but we're going to show you how you can continue doing what you're doing but sustainably."
"We want to believe that when we start our educational and professional development seminars, that even if you are not part of the 20 that was recruited or you didn't know about it and you know now after it's late, that you joined because education is power, right? Knowledge is power," he said.
This program will encourage farmers to be more climate friendly while increasing how much they produce.
"So this grant has three elements: high yield or increase production, the measuring of the greenhouse gas emission and carbon and then help you sell your commodity," Dr. Katampe said.
Central State’s research is looking at applying nitrogen-rich cow manure as a natural fertilizer while encouraging other climate smart agricultural practices for the production of fruit and vegetables.
Chosen farmers will receive up to $1,300 per acre for farmland used in the research. They will also receive up to $4,800 per acre for farm labor costs and data collection.
Participants must be small-scale, underserved or part of a minority group, and own at least one acre of land.
These underserved communities that qualify include American Indians or Alaskan Natives, Asians, African Americans, Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders and Hispanics.
Katampe, said the main goal of this research is to increase yield for farmers.
“We're not going to alter your ways, but we're going to show you how you can continue doing what you're doing but sustainably," he said. "Sustainably meaning reducing greenhouse gas emission. But also sequestering or introducing carbon or improving your soil health.”
Over the next five years, the researchers will move to product testing, data collection and finally sharing the results in 2028.
“The second year, when planting starts by March, April during the harvesting, then we will start product market testing," Katampe said. "And then we would start educating the farmers and seeing what has worked, what has not worked. Optimizing our condition.”
According to Katampe, this research is vital to consumers who rely on healthy fruit and vegetables to thrive.
"It should be expedient that we participate and encourage nutritious food growth. Especially from natural sources," he said. "We are integrated with livestock manufacturing. So this project gives a holistic approach that nothing is wasted, if the animal dung can be used to grow farm produce. So this is a healthy way of preserving our environment."
