Suburban agriculture, immigrant farmers, and access to agricultural services and resources

Abstract

While agricultural services are shrinking, the num­ber of nontraditional farms run by immigrant farm­ers is rising in U.S. suburban regions. This study attempts to understand Chinese immigrant farmers’ experience accessing agricultural services and resources in the New York metropolitan area and explores the need for changes in agricultural ser­vices to meet changing demand. Thirteen Chinese immigrant farmers in the region were recruited to participate in a semi-structured interview to under­stand their shared experiences of accessing agricul­tural services and resources. The study identified diverse ways of accessing agricultural services and resources in four critical areas of farming opera­tions: agricultural technology, financial services, farm labor, and farming machinery; and also revealed the existence of “liability of newness” among those new immigrant farmers in operating farms. Most participants felt that they were iso­lated, with limited access to available services as new immigrant farmers, which constitutes the lia­bilities to their success in farming. Language barri­ers, cultural differences, distrust, and isolation were the main obstacles to access adequate services and resources. As farms and farmers are becoming more diverse in U.S. suburban regions, the provi­sion of agricultural services needs to adapt accord­ingly to meet the growing needs of groups of farm­ers with varying farming experiences and demographic backgrounds and help them to over­come the liabilities as new immigrant farmers. This study contributes to understanding the farming experiences of minority farm groups, which help develop more inclusive agricultural services.