CDFA Racial Equity Action Plan
Introduction:
Since the passage of AB 1348, the Farmer Equity Act, in 2017, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has been taking steady steps to address historic and systemic racial inequities. The CDFA recognizes the historical inequities and discrimination within agriculture and has taken action to start to address the root causes of those inequities. This Racial Equity Action Plan (REAP) is a plan for action to guide long-term efforts to embed equity throughout CDFA programs, policies and practices. The REAP is a guide on how to continue to build and change structures and systems so that all California producers have the same opportunities and that ultimately race, ethnicity or gender does not determine life outcomes in the agricultural sector in California. The CDFA recognizes this takes time, trust and it is an iterative process of setting forth the intention to repair inequitable systems that serve certain groups over others. In the context of climate change this has become an even more acute focus of the agency, as more and more sectors of California agriculture are facing impacts of climate change and disadvantaged communities are disproportionately impacted by climate change. The CDFA also recognizes that there is an important need to address internal equity systems, structures and activities through the lens of racial equity. The CDFA is comprised of hundreds of staff who work each day to protect and serve California agriculture. The CDFA recognizes the value of the diversity of our dedicated staff who work each day to protect and serve California agriculture and thus it is a high priority to build and strengthen internal equity systems at the agency to fully realize the vision of California for All. /p>
Background:
The Farm Equity Office (FEO) was created in 2018 and it is within the Executive Office at CDFA. The FEO focuses on implementation of the Farmer Equity Act, and on all external matters impacting farmers, horticulturalists, small-scale producers, and tribal communities. The FEO works throughout all CDFA Divisions and collaborates with all programs at CDFA. In 2021, CDFA also re-named the EEO office as the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) to more specifically focus on eliminating discrimination and driving internal equity focused initiatives for CDFA’s employees, applicants, appointees, and the system of District Agricultural Associations. Together, with the support of CDFA’s Executive Office, and input from all CDFA’s employees, the FEO and the OCR have created CDFA’s REAP. This plan takes a holistic approach to addressing racial equity by including both internal-facing and external-facing goals and objectives. The FEO focuses on external efforts to advance and prioritize equity with stakeholders, producers and interagency collaboration on equity focused initiatives. The OCR focuses on internal initiatives related to hiring, education, tools, and upward mobility to ensure the internal workings of CDFA are equity focused and beneficial for all CDFA employees. This two-pronged approach allows the CDFA to strategically address racism and lift up marginalized communities through both internal processes and initiatives, and through continued engagement with external stakeholder groups. Additionally, the REAP is in alignment with and complimentary to the CDFA Strategic Plan and also the recently published “Ag Vision for the Next Decade,” which highlights and embeds equity throughout the plan.
CCORE:
In 2020, sixteen CDFA staff and an executive sponsor began a year-long training through the Capital Collaborative on Race and Equity (CCORE). At the culmination of this training, CDFA developed a draft racial equity action plan. The following year, CDFA held a series of listening sessions, trainings and discussions with all of CDFA staff to inform and refine the REAP to reflect all of CDFA programs and divisions and to raise awareness of the plan among staff and leadership.
Next Steps:
The CDFA will present this plan to the public in September 2023, and hold public listening sessions about the plan throughout the remainder of 2023 and early 2024. The CDFA is also available to host this plan to the public in a series of public listening sessions throughout the remainder of 2023 and early 2024.
CDFA envisions this plan as a guide and the backbone of our work as an agency to address racial equity, and also a mechanism to continue to ensure that AB 1348, the Farmer Equity Act, continues to be implemented across CDFA. The REAP is meant to be a living document to be revised regularly to track and ensure progress is being made towards achieving the outcomes and vision laid forth in the plan.
Overview:
The REAP has a vision, followed by 5 Goals/Outcomes. Under each of those goals, there are strategies to achieve the outcome, followed by action. This plan is meant to be revisited annually, with updates on progress and new links to resources, tools, policies or initiatives to address equity. The new Farm Equity homepage will contain new tools, resources, data and metrics that will be collected throughout the process to measure progress towards the goals and vision of this plan.
