>Programs
>Small Farmer Education Program
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| ALBA
provides educational and economic opportunities for limited-resource,
aspiring and immigrant farmers. This program, primarily conducted
in Spanish, typically enrolls 24-36 aspiring entrepreneurs
each November. Upon successfully completing course assignments,
such as developing a crop plan and business plan, they can
qualify to lease ALBA farmland as early as the following April,
when we also have a graduation celebration. Participants lease
land starting at 10% of market rates, and the rates increase
to 80% of market over the course of four years. By also paying
fees for equipment and irrigation usage, beginning farmers
operate several small businesses at the 110-acre Rural Development
Center, an organic farm located eight miles south of Salinas,
California.
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