Etaferahu Takele, UCCE Ag Econ/Farm Management Area Farm Advisor Southern California Counties Peggy Mauk, UCCE Subtropical Horticulture Advisor, Riverside County Conclusion UCCE expanded its risk management education for small scale, minority and women producers through partnership with CSUSB and forming the IESFI. This partnership attracted other agencies to collaborate and extend programs on a broader scale to our clientele. The IESFI has made progress in increasing the viability and sustainability of small scale, minority and women producers in the Inland Empire through educational and consulting programs, redirecting them to produce and market crops that will give them comparative advantage. Also, with collaboration to other agencies, IESFI efforts have resulted in the development of direct marketing niches for these clientele group. With funding from USDA a buying co-op is being formalized for bringing locally grown fresh produce to agencies that provide food and nutritional support to low income residents. This marketing program is expected to reduce costs of shipping and selling hence increasing growers net returns. Funds are collaboratively being pursued to help in the development of other direct marketing venues for this clientele group. Purpose and Goals To conduct a production and marketing risk management program that will improve the viability and sustainability of small scale, minority and women producers. Background/Introduction There has been a decline in small scale, minority and women producers in southern California (~20% decline from 1997 to 2002). There are ~10,000 producers in this category in southern California of which women principal owners account for ~5%. However, the number of women producers is more given their partnership roles in most family operations. Production costs increase induced by resource competition for land and water between the rapid urban expansion and agriculture and insufficient returns for many crops have caused financial difficulty for farmers in southern California. Many of these producers especially the small scale and minority will face financial difficulty and move out of farming unless they have comparative advantage in both production and marketing. This theme has been the basis for the UCCE risk management education program since the year In 2003, UCCE and CSUSB funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) formed partnership and established an Initiative for establishing a center for expanding the risk management education in the Inland Empire counties of Riverside and San Bernardino. This poster presents our activities and results from this program. Results and Accomplishments Educational programs: Workshops and seminars (7) conducted on production of specialty crops and development of marketing niches attracted 275 clientele with 31% Hispanic, 7% Asian, 20% Female and 2% Black. Newsletters, flyers and poster presentations reached ~3,000 clientele Risk Management Education Center established: UCCE and CSUSB in partnership established the IESFI, a center for providing continuing risk management education and consulting to Small Scale, minority and women producers in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. The center benefited 45 growers in tax credit programs; business education, and USDA loan and soil conservation programs. Marketing Niches: Farmers cooperative formed: Supported by IESFI educational programs, and USDA rural development funding, the Desert Alliance for Community Empowerment (DACE) developed a food buying co- op. This co-op serves to bring locally grown fresh produce to agencies that provide food and nutritional support to low income residents and enabling local producers to direct market and reduce costs of marketing (shipping, brokerage and selling). Networking already developed and funds are being pursued to develop direct marketing to School Lunch programs conducted by the Department of Defense. Farmers market development in progress to supply the winter tourist attraction areas of Indio and Palm Desert. Impacts We demonstrated the importance and effectiveness of collaboration to attract funds and pooling of resources for addressing program needs of our clientele on a broader scale. Partnership programs of UCCE and CSUSB networking with DACE has led to: A continuum of the risk management education by UCCE and the consulting program by CSUSB in crop production, marketing, business management, and economics. An increased effort and success in the development and management of new markets and community businesses by DACE. We have also demonstrated that several growers’ production and marketing skills have enhanced, and their viability and sustainability increased despite increasing production costs. Project Collaborators : Joe Elizondo, Director, Inland Empire Center for Entrepreneurship, CSUSB and Jose Aguiar, UCCE Small Farms and Vegetable Crops Advisor, Riverside County University of California Cooperative Extension Making Effort in Developing Marketing Niches for Small Scale, Women and Minority Producers University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) and California State University San Bernardino (CSUSB) Inland Empire Small Farm Initiative (IESFI ) Methodology Equip growers with skills and tools to have a comparative advantage: Redirect and enable growers to produce new and specialty crops. Develop new direct or non-traditional ways of marketing these crops. Attract, collaborate and network with local institutions and agencies for enhancing program delivery and implementation. National Extension Women in Agriculture Education Conference, April 6 & 7, 2006 St. Louis, MO Southern California Counties San Bernardino Riverside Imperial San Diego Orange Los Angeles Ventura San Luis Obispo Santa Barbara Project Counties