August 11, 2008
Albuquerque Journal
Agriculture project honored
By Jane Moorman, NMSU News ServiceALCALDE — New Mexico State University's Cooperative Extension Service's Rural Agricultural Improvement and Public Affairs Project has received national recognition for the work it has done for the past 10 years with farmers and ranchers in Northern New Mexico.
The RAIPAP staff housed at NMSU's Sustainable Agriculture Science Center in Alcalde has received the 2008 National Award for Diversity. The honor is presented annually by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Cooperative State Research, Extension and Education Service at the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges' annual meeting.
The award acknowledges accomplishments in achieving organizational changes that provide innovative programs to its ethnically and culturally diverse clientele.
"We congratulate and commend the Rural Agricultural Improvement and Public Affairs Project staff and extend to them our sincere thanks for the outstanding work they have supported in furthering the issue of diversity and pluralism within the system," said Willene Buffett, chair of the Diversity Award Selection Committee.
The RAIPAP staff members have demonstrated their ability to work as a team to serve the needs of the most endangered group of farmers/ranchers in our country, said Edmund Gomez, director of RAIPAP.
"This agricultural community has the distinction of the longest and most continuous history of farming and ranching within the continental United States. The ancestors of our clients started agriculture in our area more than 800 years ago," he said.
RAIPAP's mission is to accelerate Extension and research efforts for limited-resource, small-acreage Hispanic and Native American farmers/ranchers in northern New Mexico. This is accomplished through research-based educational efforts in sustainable agriculture, small-business development, value-added agriculture, and leadership and organizational development.