AAMU Professor to Serve on USDA Advisory Committee
Small Farms Research Center Director Selected by USDA Secretary
The director of Alabama A&M University’s Small Farms Research Center has been appointed to a key national advisory group.
Dr. Duncan Chembezi will join the 15-member U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Advisory Committee on Minority Farmers, according to an announcement by USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue. The advisory group will provide information to the USDA on challenges and opportunities faced by minority farmers in the U.S.
Chembezi joined AAMU 25 years ago and has provided educational and technical assistance to minority farmers, as well as identified paths to markets, land, resources and opportunities in the farm industry.
“Having worked with small farmers for a long time, it is an honor to serve on the committee,” Chembezi responded to Neighbors magazine, published by the Alabama Farmers Federation (ALFA). “The appointment reflects the agricultural sector’s confidence in me and others like me to carry out the secretary’s vision and the USDA’s vision for minority farmers.
Chembezi has previously served on the Advisory Board of the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group, Advisory Council of the Southern Region Risk Management Education Center, and Advisory Committee of the Southern Agricultural Economics Association. In recognition of his outstanding professional work, he received an Excellence in Extension and Public Service Award from the Southern Rural Sociological Association.