PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Yemi Amu, Urban Farmer, on Urban Agriculture and Land Security
2:29:43
·
134 sec
Yemi Amu, a black urban farmer specializing in aquaponics, testified in support of bill 693 (incorrectly referred to as 692 in the transcript) while emphasizing the challenges faced by small-scale urban farmers, particularly regarding land security and sustainable operations. She highlighted the importance of supporting farmers who both grow food and educate communities.
- Amu's farm hosts educational programs, donates 60% of produce, and provides culinary education.
- She stressed the need for land ownership opportunities for urban farmers, especially for training the next generation.
- Amu called for more support for small-scale and BIPOC farmers, including resources and land tenure.
Yemi Amu
2:29:43
Hi, everyone.
2:29:45
My name is Yemi Amu.
2:29:48
I'm sorry there's noise in the background.
2:29:50
I'm actually at a cafe right now because we are just moving out of our farm.
2:29:55
We lost our lease.
2:29:58
I'm really thankful for this opportunity.
2:30:00
I'm thankful that this bill 692 exists.
2:30:03
I'm speaking as a black farmer.
2:30:06
I have been running local farms for over a decade now.
2:30:09
We raise fresh water fish and vegetables.
2:30:12
We're an aquaponics farm and outdoor aquaponics farm because we believe that aquaponics should be accessible.
2:30:19
We do everything from school groups to adult education on our farm.
2:30:25
Every year, we post at least about 2,000 young children.
2:30:28
We have wellness and nutrition workshops.
2:30:31
We provide free culinary education, and we also donate about 60% of the produce that we grow to our partner who runs community bridges.
2:30:40
They maintain an, run and maintain community bridges around the city.
2:30:46
The work that we do is not easy.
2:30:49
We do it with very limited resources and constantly facing the barrier of land, tenureship is very hard.
2:30:58
There's been a lot of talk about making sure people get fed.
2:31:03
I think it is equally important to talk about how we sustain the folks who are growing the food.
2:31:10
Urban farmers do the work of both growing food and educating people And we have to do it with a lot of land and security.
2:31:19
I support this bill, but I would love to hear more about how to support small scale farmers need to farmers and how to think about providing them not just resources.
2:31:30
But tenure.
2:31:31
I think that is land ownership.
2:31:33
That is something that is lacking.
2:31:37
A lot of the work that we do also involves training our people.
2:31:40
We pay the young people that we work with And the question that comes up for me all the time is how can I have this as a career for myself?
2:31:48
And without making sure that there's land available for these young people
Alex Paulenoff
2:31:52
His time has expired.
Yemi Amu
2:31:53
Have, a future of urban farmers.
2:31:57
Thank you.
