Episode 3-

The Resurgence of Black Farming

It’s been a few generations since the Great Migration, and we are starting to see a resurgence of African Americans deciding to return to agriculture and take up farming. On this episode, Deb speaks to current farmers about the reasons they farm, and how they are working to change the difficult relationship between Black Americans and farming. We hear from Ashlee Johnson-Geisse of Brown Girl Farms about why she decided to start a farm in the middle of the 2020 lockdown, Kamal Bell of Sankofa Farms about how his farm's youth programs support his community, and finally Olivia Watkins of the Black Farmer Fund about how she's helping Black farmers become financially sustainable.

In this episode, Deb talks to:

• Ashlee Johnson Geisse, farmer and founder of  Brown Girl Farms

• Kamal Bell, CEO of Sankofa Farms

• Olivia Watkins, co-founder and president of the Black Farmer Fund

Episode highlights:

Brown Girl Farms

• Ashlee founded Brown Girl Farms a week before the COVID pandemic hit. As people went into quarantine and began looking for pots and seeds, Ashlee propagated starter plants and produce, which she would deliver to people in her community.

• She describes her journey from patio to land, where she now tills her crops by hand to maintain a connection, through traditional land practices, to her ancestors.

• She also grows heritage crops like collard greens, sweet potatoes, and black-eyed peas. “Our histories are so deeply connected and intertwined with these crops,” she says. 

• As a Black, female, queer farmer, Ashlee believes that her role is also an important act of representation and visibility for other Black, female, queer farmers.

Sankofa Farms

• Kamal explains that the term “sankofa” comes from West Africa and means that it’s not taboo to “fetch what has been lost.” 

• The farm was founded in 2016, he explains. He quickly realized the difficulties in building a farm: getting the farm, building the infrastructure, accessing the capital, and working with the community are all difficult processes.

• Crops at Sanfoka Farms include: kale, chard, turnips, and collard greens

• Kamal notes the various programs at Sankofa, like building partnerships with local food cooperatives, Airbnb experience, and a youth academy where African American males can work at the farm and gain life skills.

• “Agriculture is the foundation for everything else in our society,” he says of the youth programming at Sankofa. “It’s about teaching them so that they can go further than I did.”

Black Farmer Fund

• Olivia comments that she’s always had a deep respect for the environment and has always wanted to be a part of organizations that work toward climate-resilient solutions that make sure that vulnerable populations have access to those resources.

• She identifies lack of access to capital as a major issue facing Black farmers. 

• Olivia works in impact investing, which she explains as “the process of creating financial products that distribute money into businesses that prioritize practicing business that ensure the longevity of our world and our society in sustainable ways.” There are two main types: philanthropic grants and publicly traded stocks.

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