CDFA Farm Equity Office publishes report and recommendations following Tribal Listening Sessions

CDFA is pleased to announce the publication of a California Native American Tribe Listening Session Report. The report can be found on the CDFA Farm Equity homepage.

The report is the result of a two-year collaboration with the Intertribal Agriculture Council. CDFA's Farm Equity office and program staff collaborated with the council to conduct four listening sessions with Native American tribes from across the state. The sessions focused primarily on identifying current barriers and challenges to accessing CDFA grant programs, resources and services; and to propose recommendations for CDFA to address historic and current barriers to engagement with tribes.

The major recommendations are:

1. Develop tribal-specific grant application tracks within CDFA grant programs
2. Provide one-on-one technical assistance support with applications and project implementation.
3. Expand grant program focus and terminology to to include native foods, native plants, and native food sovereignty.

Although many CDFA grant programs are increasingly accessed by tribes, there is still a relatively low percentage of awards annually for them. The recommendations will help guide CDFA program staff to better address barriers - through innovations and changes in program structure, outreach and engagement. The objective is to ensure that more tribes are aware of grant programs, technical assistance, and other State of California opportunities.

"By coming together to host these listening sessions, the Intertribal Agriculture Council and the California Department of Food and Agriculture have taken a step toward better engagement with California tribes," said Natalie Soares of the IAC. "The listening sessions allowed them to provide critical feedback on state programs related to agriculture in Indian Country. We look forward to seeing how CDFA will refine its programs in response to supporting tribal needs."

CDFA's Farm Equity Office continues to work to implement the tenets of AB 1348, the Farmer Equity Act, which called for increasing access to CDFA grants, programs resources, and services; and ensuring that historically underserved groups such as Native American tribes have a voice going forward.

The publication of this report is one step towards greater accountability and real progress toward ensuring that we are partnering with and serving Native American tribes in innovative ways.