SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The peppers farmer Nathaniel Brown picks at his farm aren’t the regular type you might see at the grocery store.

“A lot of people cannot find these in the grocery stores and they get pretty excited when they do see them,” said Brown, owner of Brown Sugar Farm. “Like this one, for instance, Fatalii, and it has a citrus note to it. An orange citrus note.”

What You Need To Know

  • According to the USDA, Black farmers owned more than 16 million acres of land in 1910, but now, they have less than 5 million acres

  • Just 1% of farmers in the United States identify as Black

  • The Ujamaa Farmer Collective is working to help BIPOC people gain land and encourage a sharing of knowledge from current black farmers to those just starting

  • The National Black Farmers Association reports Black people have been systematically excluded from programs that enable farmers to acquire land and build wealth

Brown grows and sells a wide variety of produce and flowers from his small urban farm.

He said business is going well, but one thing keeps him from financial stability.

“This isn’t truly enough space for a young person to make his whole livelihood,” Brown said.

Expanding is easier said than done, he said, especially as a Black farmer.

“Owning land, farmland, especially, or even just occupying land in general, whether it’s leasing, owning in general, it’s hard,” Brown said.

The National Black Farmers Association reports Black people have been systematically excluded from programs that enable farmers to acquire land and build wealth.

According to the USDA, Black farmers owned more than 16 million acres of land in 1910. But now, they have less than 5 million acres.

It’s why Brown is teaming up with fellow urban farmer and co-founder of the Ujamaa Farmer Collective, Nelson Hawkins, to work towards helping Black people acquire agricultural land. But that’s just one part of the collective, Hawkins said. 

“It’s also us facilitating that dynamic where we can really reduce the burden of entry,” Hawkins said. “And really help each other out because farming in and of itself, taking land out of the situation, is not easy.”

Thankfully, Hawkins said after many hours of hard work, the group will be able to help farmers of color, including Brown, with access to more land through a $1.25 million grant from the state for 50 to 100 acres in Yolo County.

“This is significant in our ability to not only make the next shift for land access to historically underserved farmers of color,” Hawkins said. “Specifically Black farmers, but others that are in a similar situation. But also, the next generation.”

There’s still much to work out, Hawkins said, of when and where the land will be located and how it will be portioned to farmers.

Even though acquiring the land is still in the beginning phase, Brown said it’s an exciting prospect, and his planning has already begun.

“I’m going to be planting an orchard,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of fruit that I’m passionate about.”

It’s that passion Brown said he hopes will further his business on greater land and help cultivate a love for farming among the Black community.