Kilimo

Founded in 2020, Kilimo Minnesota is an incubator farm where emerging farmers of African descent grow vegetables organically for the local community and offer a variety of produce and traditional African greens. Participants gain access to farm facilities, sales aggregation services, and mentorship, preparing them to purchase their own regenerative farms upon completing the program. Kilimo has grown to a network of nearly 70 farmers and supports farmers organizing themselves into 12 cooperatives along with a group of 22 farmers seeking GAP certification this season to expand their sales.

Kilimo Minnesota is an organic incubator farm with a mission to socially and economically empower emerging farmers of African descent. Kilimo is a space for healing, learning, and building community for black farmers in Minnesota. Participants gain access to farm facilities, sales aggregation services, and mentorship, preparing them to purchase their own regenerative farms upon completing the program. Kilimo farmers grow vegetables for the community including traditional African greens.

Since 2020, the organization has grown to include 70 farmers around the Twin Cities Metro growing for food distribution, farmers markets, and institutional contracts. As a next step in supporting farmers in market and land access, Kilimo has encouraged farmers to organize as 12 cooperatives, leveraging the power of farmers working together. The coops are growing premium rice trials this summer and 22 farmers are being trained in GAP certification, both initiatives to expand market options.

A donation of this kind is immensely helpful to our organization in that it can provide a meal at the food safety training for farmers, pay for farmers to attend an organic farming conference, supplement operational expenses of irrigation and fencing for fields, and supplement technical assistance in teaching farmers good post-harvest handling. Our organization operates largely from grant funding, so having this opportunity means that we are able to continue the work we are doing.

This year we have doubled in size to include 70 farmers with the development of 12 coops around the Metro including the cities of Northeast Minneapolis, Fridley, Shoreview, and Roseville. Continuing to provide support to the coops and new farmers is a commitment Kilimo has made, meanwhile working to develop markets and help farmers with land access. With federal funding of future Local Food Purchasing Assistance (LFPA) looking bleak, we will need to explore options for markets next year.