The economic, and public health, and environmental status of American Indians are among the worst. Tribal members still suffer a wide range of social and environmental injustice that are more severe than any ethnic/minority group in the United States.

The primary goal of the proposed program is to work closely with USDA on delivering targeted technical assistance/training in Native American communities, improving equitable participation of Native producers in USDA programs and services. The proposed program is also to improve Native producers’ business management skills, promote local food production, and increase the resiliency/self-reliance of the economically distressed/underserved American Indian communities in the Southwest. 

Southwest Indian Agricultural Association, Inc. (SWIAA) is a Native American owned and operated 501 c 3 non-profit organization with over 35 years of successful track-record providing outreach, education, and support to Native producers in the Southwest.  In this program, SWIAA draws on the best agriculture education, outreach, and technical assistance expertise from the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, Arizona Federally Recognized Tribal Extension Program, Apex Applied Technology, Inc., Painted Desert Demonstration Projects, Inc. (d.b.a. The STAR School), and few Native American agricultural organizations in the Southwest.  This team has extensive knowledge, experience and, a long history of working together, providing effective technical assistance/training and producing sustainable and positive results in underserved tribal communities. The team is committed to closely collaborating with USDA agencies/community leaders/agricultural organizations, implementing grassroots strategies, delivering targeted communication, fostering transparency, and delivering the proposed technical assistance/training in collaborative, systematic, targeted, adaptive, customized, and results-driven ways.