A Feasibility Study for Urban Edge Agricultural Parks - SAGE

ALBA’s Rural DevelopmentCenter (RDC)Background and PurposeThe Agriculture & Land-Based Training Association’s (ALBA) mission is to promoteeconomic viability, social equity and ecological land management among limitedresource farmers and agricultural laborers, in order to advance a sustainable foodsystem on California’s Central Coast. The Rural Development Center (RDC) wasfounded in 1985 as a “farmworker-to-farmer” training center, by the Association forCommunity Based Education (ACBE), a Washington, DC based non-profitorganization. In 2000, ALBA was founded as a locally controlled organization toassume the programs and assets of ACBE in California – namely the RDC, as well asthe Triple M Ranch to establish the Farm Training & Research Center (see CaseStudy), which had recently been acquired by ACBE. The mission of the RDCremains as it has for the last 20 years - to provide an incubator environment for thedevelopment of small family run agricultural enterprises that are economicallyviable and environmentally sound, especially, although not exclusively, amongLatino farmworkers seeking to establish themselves as independent farmers.Target ProducersThe target audience of the Center’s programs is aspiring farmers that come largelyfrom an agricultural labor background. ALBA also collaborates with numerouspartners that aim to reach the same audience and share its agricultural,conservation, local economic development and social justice objectives. The Centeroffers a six-month training course for beginning farmers, practical, hands-onlearning opportunities, technical and marketing assistance, access to land, as wellas agriculture and land management research opportunities. Organic production isthe focus of ALBA’s aspiring farmer education program, given the difficulty incompeting with conventional growers due to scale, the possibility for small farmersto access direct markets, and the environmental and social benefits provided byorganic agriculture.Land/LocationThe Rural Development Center (RDC) is located at 1700 Old Stage Road, Salinas,CA 93908, approximately 10 miles south of downtown Salinas, in the heart of theSalinas Valley, the “Salad Bowl” of the world, an extremely important agriculturalproduction area for the U.S. and the world.Scale/ParcelizationThe RDC consists of 110 acres, of which approximately 100 are cultivable.Approximately 25 aspiring and limited-resource farmers farm on parcels from ½ to10 acres of land for up to three years. Crops grown include strawberries andnumerous cool weather crops such as greens, lettuces, brassicas, corn, and beans,DRAFT 1.6.05 80