Mission Statement & Strategic Plan
Mission Statement
Rooted
in diverse immigrant farmer experience, NIFI strengthens the capacity
of immigrants to farm successfully and to advance sustainable farming
and food systems.
Farmer Nou Yang (left) sells his vegetables at the
Dorchester Farmers’ Market near Boston. A group visited
this market as part of a pilot immigrant farming exchange
program that NIFI organized in August of 2005.
Strategic Plan Highlights
Background and PurposeNIFI undertook participatory Strategic Planning in El Paso, Texas in May 2004, hosted by Heifer International’s Southwest Program Office. Growing Power hosted a follow-up meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in September 2004. Kathleen Osta of Vital Clarity facilitated both meetings. Over 25 people participated in this process, including NIFI Steering Committee members, Heifer staff, immigrant farmers and other farmers, and other representatives. NIFI’s Strategic Plan sets the direction for our future, outlines key activities to help us realize our vision, and serves as a unifying catalyst for sustained involvement.
Our Strategic Plan was generated through a series of brainstorming workshops. The initial planning session in EPaso addressed our Mission Statement, Vision for 2007, Underlying Contradictions, Action Areas, and Strategic Directions. Based on this foundation, participants formed teams to identify and implement elements of the plan.
The following NIFI Strategic Plan Highlights serve as an Executive Summary of the full NIFI Strategic Plan and reflect the key points of consensus reached during the planning process, and include our Mission Statement, Key Vision Elements, and the Action Areas that make up our Strategic Directions. A participant list is provided at the end of the document.