Tobacco Communities Reinvestment Fund
RAFI’s
Tobacco Communities Reinvestment Fund was created in 1997 to address
the barriers facing tobacco farmers and tobacco dependent communities.
The program is designed to enable farmers and community groups to
put their own ideas to work to replace lost tobacco income. RAFI
offers technical and cost-share support to innovative producers
and communities to help them take advantage of local resources and
opportunities.
With the support of the Golden LEAF Foundation and the North
Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission, the Reinvestment Fund
continues to assist farmers to create viable, new farm enterprises
that demonstrate innovative ways to replace lost tobacco income.
The Reinvestment Fund encourages agricultural entrepreneurship,
which generates employment, finds new uses for tobacco equipment
and facilities, enhances and protects farm and natural resources,
and benefits other farmers and communities.
The projects supported by the Tobacco Communities Reinvestment Fund
are diverse, reflecting the diversity of farmers, communities, and
opportunities that exists in North Carolina. See descriptions of
past and present projects.
Keys to Success of the Tobacco Communities
Reinvestment Fund
- Directed by a board of experts who bring practical expertise
in farming, marketing, and rural communities to the table;
- Helps applicants and grant recipients make use of existing
technical assistance networks;
- Stresses collaboration between farmers, community groups, non-governmental
organizations, and government agencies;
- Provides hands-on support for planning and carrying out of
new enterprises;
- Uses a farmer friendly process, no red tape;
- Assists innovative growers and community groups to disseminate
their ideas;
- Provides capital to test out new ideas.
By enabling agricultural entrepreneurship, the Tobacco Communities
Reinvestment Fund is imparting business and technical skills that
help farmers best utilize scarce resources today and in the future.
Over the long-term, assisting farmers to acquire the skills necessary
to develop their farms into viable businesses will help lead to
stronger, more stable rural economies and protect family farms.
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