ECOSYSTEM BUILDING

KTA’s Ecosystem Building program increases equitable access to land, capital, and markets through community-driven projects and advocacy rooted in farmer and rancher needs.

Explore OUR WORK:

Land | Markets | Capital | Policy & Advocacy

We unlock vital resources and elevate producer voices in order to shift greater governance and ownership to farmers and ranchers.

Berkeley Basket CSA

Problem

Over the years, we’ve observed patterns among clients experiencing similar challenges around land, capital, and markets. Systemic inequities prevent under-resourced farmers and ranchers from accessing and owning critical business resources, leading decision-making within institutions, and shaping policy.

Siembra y Cosecha

GOAL

Through our work, we aim to increase diverse producer leadership, decision-making, and ownership within institutions and policies. We are also committed to cultivating stronger networks of program partners and funders in addition to sufficiently resourcing producer-led initiatives and support organizations.

What does the work look like

We collaborate with farmers and ranchers, program partners, and funders on innovative initiatives shaped by producer visions and serving communities beyond our advising clients. Dive into our focus areas of land, capital, and markets below or visit our Policy & Advocacy page.

Policy & Advocacy →
Our Impact →

Bella Vida Farm

OUR Work

Land

The current landscape

Historical injustices around land theft and displacement persist within the communities we support alongside increasing land consolidation by large landowners. At an individual level, under-resourced farmers and ranchers can face the high cost of farmland, a lack of smaller parcels of organic acreage, discriminatory and excessive requirements to qualify for capital, and language barriers.

OUR FOCUS

Develop shared land tenure for producers with financing, conservation, and infrastructure support.

OUR Work

MARKETS

The current landscape

Access to markets for producers can be limited by lack of connections to values-aligned buyers, market consolidation among large-scale distributors, lack of infrastructure and capacity to support market channel development, low product prices, and tech barriers.

OUR FOCUS

Support producer-led food hubs and connect producers to values-aligned buyers and diversified market channels.

OUR Work

CAPTIAL

The current landscape

The existing lending landscape is inadequate to meet the needs of under-resourced farmers and ranchers. Producers can experience challenges in accessing capital owing to high interest rates, discriminatory lending practices, complex application processes, long timelines to receive funds, and language and tech barriers.

OUR FOCUS

Design flexible and affordable financing offerings for producers, and build integrated funding models tailored to regional projects.