The USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) held a listening session to receive input on potential agency actions related to environmental justice. Input and insights collected through this session will be used to strengthen NIFA’s program delivery. NIFA’s environmental justice work is being guided by the draft goals developed for the forthcoming USDA Environmental Justice Strategic Plan.
Written comments will be accepted at EJ.NIFA@usda.gov by September 6, 2024 5 p.m. Central.
USDA NIFA’s mission is to advance agricultural research, education, and extension to solve societal challenges through investments that catalyze transformative discoveries and support science-based programming. We welcome all comments on how NIFA can most effectively work towards achieving environmental justice.
USDA Environmental Justice Strategic Plan Draft Goals
- Strive to ensure USDA programs and services provide opportunities for, and promote equitable benefits to, communities with environmental justice concerns.
- Strive to ensure USDA’s actions do not have disproportionate and adverse impacts on communities with environmental justice concerns and commit to addressing and resolving environmental justice issues and complaints as they arise in a timely manner.
- Promote economic development opportunities within communities with environmental justice concerns, including increased capacity-building, workforce development, and market development opportunities.
- Strive to ensure meaningful opportunities for public participation in USDA program operations, planning activities, and decision-making processes. Strive to ensure engagements are broadly accessible to diverse publics, including communities with environmental justice concerns. Strive to ensure Tribal consultation is performed frequently—as appropriate—and in a timely, respectful manner. Strive to ensure insights from public engagements and consultations are documented, analyzed, and retained, and are meaningfully considered during subsequent decision processes.
- Increase the awareness, skills, and abilities of USDA leadership and staff regarding environmental justice. Strive to ensure sufficient capacity to support work related to environmental justice.