On Wednesday, the USDA made a $262.5 million investment in higher education institutions to foster the next generation of diverse agricultural professionals across the U.S. This program, funded by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, aims to lower costs for American families, expand access to markets to producers from all backgrounds and communities, build a clean energy economy, and strengthen American supply chains, according to the USDA.
“Each generation of agricultural professionals faces new challenges as we feed our world’s growing population, and the future generations give me hope that we will rise to the occasion to meet these challenges with opportunity,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in a statement. “This historic investment from the Biden-Harris Administration in our nation’s Minority-serving Institutions brings us closer to building a workforce that represents the richness and diversity of all the communities we serve.”
The National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s “From Learning to Leading: Cultivating the Next Generation of Diverse Food and Agriculture Professionals Program” will enable eligible institutions to build and sustain the next generation of food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences workforce, according to the USDA. This includes efforts to strengthen USDA’s workforce through enhanced educational support, experiential learning, and exposure to early career opportunities.
Eligible institutions include 1890 Land-grant Universities, 1994 Tribal Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-serving Institutions, Alaska Native-serving and Native Hawaiian-serving Institutions, and institutions of higher education located in the insular areas, as well as their partners. The $262.5 million investment will provide training and support to more than 20,000 future food and agricultural leaders through 33 project partners.
The NextGen program is part of USDA’s commitment to equity and steps it has taken under Vilsack’s direction to improve equity and access, eliminate barriers to its programs for underserved individuals and communities, and build a workforce more representative of America.
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