Center for Citizen Initiatives

The Ag Initiative's mission was to assist Russian and NIS citizens, especially the needy, to produce more of their own food on a small-scale basis; provided comprehensive support to privatized farmers through extension services; and promoted the development of sustainable and organic agriculture in Russia.

[About the Program] [Contacts] [Links]

Program Activities:

Humanitarian Seedlifts Helping the Needy Grow more of Their Own Food

Sustainable Agriculture Support Project Creating Institutions to Serve Russia's Farming Pioneers
Rooftop Gardening Improving the Food Supply & Urban Environment Simultaneously (Still active)

Target Market / Beneficiaries:

For receipt of seeds, AgI targets needy segments of the population throughout Russia and (when donations allow) other republics of the former Soviet Union.
Extension Service is (currently) offered to farmers in the Moskovskaya, Leningradskaya, Penzenskaya, Nizhegorodskaya, and Lipetskaya Oblasts, as well as the Krasnodar Krai.
The Rooftop Gardens project targets urban gardening enthusiasts throughout Russia.

Funding:

The Ag Initiative began in 1992. Petoseed, W. Atlee Burpee & Co./Geo J. Ball, Inc., the Asgrow Seed Company, Pan American Seed, and Shepherd's Garden Seeds have donated a total of 97 tons of vegetable seeds to CCI from 1992 - 1997, with a total retail value of over $15 million. The Ag Initiative currently receives funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Sam and Mary Mills fund of the Vanguard Public Foundation, and numerous American citizens.