Mayor Duggan plans new urban agriculture director to support Detroit farmers
Detroit is renowned as a fertile place for urban agriculture, but a University of Michigan analysis of land use on the city’s lower east side near the Detroit River found community and private gardens occupy less than 1% of the vacant land.
By Jena Brooker
Planet Detroit
Sept.1, 2023
Excerpt:
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan plans to hire a director of urban agriculture to support farming initiatives in the city.
During a Thursday press conference focused on his land value tax proposal, Duggan announced his intentions, which included a carve-out to ensure taxes aren’t raised on urban farms and community gardens.
Jerry Hebron, executive director of Oakland Avenue Urban Farms in Detroit’s North End neighborhood, said the position will improve efforts to support city farming projects.
“There is going to be representation from our community working with the mayor’s office and the city of Detroit to continue to raise the awareness of how important urban agriculture is,” Hebron said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced last year that it would open an office in Detroit dedicated to supporting local farmers. A USDA spokesperson said the office – the first USDA service center of any kind in the city of Detroit – will improve access to technical assistance, cost-sharing programs and low-interest financing for farms and ranches. The closest USDA service centers are located in Ann Arbor and East Lansing.
