Integrated Natural and Human Systems for African American Farmers: A Pilot Study of the Black Belt Region of Alabama

一个多世纪以来，非洲裔美国农民比白人农民失去了更多的农场和土地，失去的速度也更快。对于留在农场的非洲裔美国人来说，农场数量和土地资源的减少影响了农场收入和生活质量。这种不平等不能仅仅用社会和经济因素来解释。从事这一跨学科研究项目的研究人员将进行协调、密集和综合的努力，以确定和分析导致非洲裔美国农民数量下降的社会、经济和环境因素，更重要的是，为非洲裔美国农民的社会和经济生存能力做出贡献。研究人员将与阿拉巴马州中部黑带的农民一起研究“成功”的指标，这些指标由收入、社区社会地位、农民健康状况等人类系统因素以及土壤属性、气候和土地利用适宜性等自然系统因素定义，从而得出基于知识的综合成功模型。通过这种参与式研究方法，非裔美国农民有望更深入地了解影响他们自身生存和成功的因素。该研究项目的结果将包括新农民在一开始就可以采用的成功战略模型，以及现有农民可以调整其操作以增加成功机会的模型。另一套模型应该为社区提供信息，使他们能够预测成功的指标，最终可以增加农场数量，改善土地基础，提高周围社区的生活质量。该研究团队汇集了来自人类学、社会科学、林业、动物科学、农学、昆虫学、植物生物技术、食品科学与营养学、园艺学、植物病理学和微生物学等学科的社会和物理科学家。他们将与合作推广人员和农民进行协调和综合工作。该项目将通过将大学和当地生产者聚集在一起的参与性联系，促进研究和外联的发展，以促进农村农业，特别是少数民族农业社区的需要。该项目将有助于开发以综合和整体的方式将人类系统和自然系统结合起来的模式，可用于规划和管理新建和已建立的农场。研究人员将与来自州和联邦机构以及地方和区域社区组织的地方和国家服务提供者合作。

For more than a century, African American farmers have lost more farms and more land and at a higher rate than their white counterparts. For African Americans who remain on the farm, the decline in farm numbers and land resources has affected farm income and quality of life. This inequality cannot be explained solely by social and economic factors. The researchers undertaking this interdisciplinary research project will conduct a coordinated, intensive, and integrated effort to identify and analyze the social, economic, and environmental factors that contribute to the decline of the African American farmer and, more importantly, contribute to the social and economic viability of African American farmers. Working with farmers in the Black Belt of central Alabama, the investigators will examine indicators of "success" as defined by human system factors like income, social standing in the community, and case farmer health status as well as natural system factors like soil properties, climate, and land-use suitability to derive knowledge-based integrative models of success. Through this participatory research approach, African American farmers are expected to gain greater insights into the factors that can influence their own survival and success. Results of this research project will include models that new farmers can adopt for successful strategies at the outset and established farmers can adjust for their operations to increase their chances of success. Another set of models should provide information for communities to enable them to predict indicators of success that ultimately can lead to increased farm numbers, an improved land base, and increased quality of life in surrounding communities.This research team brings together a distinctive combination of social and physical scientists in the disciplines of anthropology, social science, forestry, animal science, agronomy, entomology, plant biotechnology, food science and nutrition, horticulture, plant pathology and microbiology. They will work with cooperative extension personnel and farmers in a coordinated and integrated manner. The project will contribute to the development of research and outreach through participatory linkages bringing together university and local producers to advance the needs of rural agricultural, and in particular, minority agricultural communities. The project will contribute to the development of models that combine human systems and natural systems in an integrated and holistic fashion that can be used for planning and management of new and established farms. Researchers will collaborate with local and national service providers from both state and federal agencies as well as local and regional community-based organizations.