Cooperative Development & Formation: Kilimo Minnesota is actively supporting African immigrant farmers as they organize into farmer-led cooperatives. Through structured training, facilitation, and technical assistance, farmers move from informal groups toward registered cooperatives with shared governance, defined roles, and collective business plans.
This work includes guiding cooperatives through early organizing, leadership development, decision-making processes, and connections to legal, financial, and land-access resources. Many of these cooperatives participate in or are members of the Minnesota Pan-African Agroecology Cooperative (MNPAAC), a statewide collective representing farmer interests.
MNPAAC Collective Support: MNPAAC is a farmer-led collective where individual farmers and cooperatives can become members. Kilimo supports MNPAAC by providing coordination, facilitation, and capacity-building support while centering farmer leadership and self-determination.
Current efforts include: onboarding new members, leadership and committee development, shared learning and peer exchange, coordination across cooperatives for markets, land access, and advocacy
MNPAAC strengthens farmer voice, collaboration, and collective opportunity beyond any single farm or cooperative.
Farm Incubation & Advanced Training: Kilimo continues to operate as an organic farm incubator, supporting farmers at different stages of their journey. Farmers receive hands-on production experience, business mentoring, and support navigating regulations, certification, and market requirements.
This initiative bridges early incubation and cooperative participation, ensuring farmers are technically skilled, business-ready, and prepared for collective enterprise and land access opportunities.
Market Access & Collective Selling: Access to consistent, fair markets remains a key barrier for emerging farmers. Kilimo is actively supporting farmers and cooperatives to: enter farmers markets and food hubs, expand into wholesale and institutional markets, coordinate collective selling through cooperatives and MNPAAC, meet food safety and buyer requirements, including GAP certification,
By working collectively, farmers reduce risk, increase volume, and build stronger relationships with buyers.
Land Access & Infrastructure Pathways: Kilimo is advancing pathways for land access by supporting cooperative-based and collective approaches to land tenure. Current efforts explore: shared land models, long-term leases, partnerships with land trusts and allies, shared infrastructure such as wash/pack areas, storage, and equipment
Land access is addressed not as an individual challenge, but as a collective strategy for long-term stability.
Leadership Development & Community Building: Strong cooperatives require strong leadership. Kilimo invests in farmer leadership development through: facilitation training, cooperative governance education, peer mentorship, youth and next-generation leadership exposure
This work ensures cooperatives and collectives are resilient, farmer-led, and community-rooted.