USDA officials participate in workshop at Albany State University

ALBANY — USDA officials came to Albany Thursday for a series of in-depth workshops and training seminars at Albany State University’s Peace Hall.

The purpose of the event was to provide information about existing and emerging USDA programs for farmers. Farmers were able to speak directly to officials regarding issues such as operating capital, equipment, loan programs, grants and other services provided by the USDA.

Speakers included Val Dolcini, administrator for the Farm Service Agency; Marcus Brownrigg, AmeriCorps VISTA director of Program Impact and Operations; Lanon Baccam, Military Veterans Agricultural Liaison and Deputy Under Secretary for the USDA Farm and Foreign Agricultural Service; Vernita Dore, Deputy Under Secretary for USDA Rural Development; and James Tillman, Regional Conservationist for the Southeast and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

“Looking our here, this looks so good to me,” said Shirley Sherrod, director of the Southwest Georgia Partnership. “I am so glad that so many people are here. We value our partnership with Albany State. We do lots of things together, and we can always count on them to help pull people together to come for good information so that you can go back into your community and use it. It is a very important thing to happen.”

Sherrod helped to spearhead the USDA workshop when she was in Washington recently, meeting with the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and expressing her dedication to farmers, ranchers, socially disadvantaged activists and community partners throughout the region, according to Bryan Zulko, National Strikeforce Coordinator for USDA Rural Development.

“Truth be told, she forced and nudged, and the Secretary of Agriculture delivered,” said Zulko. “It was decided to bring some of the best and brightest that we have down here to Southwest Georgia. We are going to try to teach everybody we have about the tools that we have and the resources that we have on behalf on the Unites States Department of Agriculture to assist you, our ultimate customers.”

Thursday’s event was hosted by the Southwest Georgia Project for Community Education Inc. SWGP is a nonprofit organization that has been in existence more than 50 years. The organization’s mission is “to educate, engage and empower communities through grassroots organizing and advocacy.”

Each speaker from the panel of USDA leaders had the opportunity to inform the audience about his or her specialty programs and discuss the commitment to supporting communities like Albany. Most emphasized the importance of partnerships and collaborations.

“The panel will also be framing the conversation about regional food systems as well as local and regional food movements,” said Zulko.

“I want to talk to you about service,” said Dore. “Everything that you hear about what we’re doing and the tools that we have available for you, I want you to be thinking about the tools that you have that can help serve your community. Service is where it is. If we can all do it, whether you have a name or a title or work for this administration or whatever, we can all do it and we can uplift each other. I hope you will take the information that you get here and, if it applies to you, apply it to yourself, and if it applies to somebody else, you tell them about it. We traveled a long way, and we are glad to be here.”

After the initial address by each speaker, the audience was broken into four different classrooms for 40-minute workshop sessions allowing personal communication between audience members and USDA officials.