U.S. EPA to Support Farmworker Safety Training in the Pacific Southwest Through Funding National Farmworker Programs Association

 U.S. EPA News Release:

U.S. EPA to Support Farmworker Safety Training in the Pacific Southwest Through Funding National Farmworker Programs Association
$2.5 million to be awarded nation-wide

SAN FRANCISCO—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Pacific Southwest Regional Office is excited to promote farmworker safety through new support for the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs (AFOP), which will receive up to $500,000 annually to conduct pesticide safety training over the next five years. With EPA funding, AFOP will administer this grant to provide occupational health and safety trainings to migrant and seasonal farmworkers in more than 25 states including Arizona, California, Hawaii and Nevada.

“EPA is pleased to continue working with the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs as we work toward our common goal of protecting our farmworkers and their families,” said EPA Assistant Administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention Alexandra Dapolito Dunn. “This exciting partnership complements our Agricultural Worker Protection Standard perfectly and will develop national pesticide safety training, education, and outreach for farmworkers and their families in rural agricultural areas.”

“This cooperative agreement will fund training to educate pesticide applicators, handlers and farmworkers on working safely with, and around, pesticides,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator John Busterud. “This longstanding partnership has allowed EPA to access AFOP’s national farmworker network and make a positive impact by enabling the farmworker population to protect themselves and their families.”

“AFOP is delighted to continue working with EPA to provide pesticide safety instruction to the nation’s farmworkers. Together with EPA, we touch real lives by empowering agricultural workers with the knowledge they need to better protect themselves, their homes, and their families from pesticide exposure,” said AFOP Executive Director Daniel Sheehan. “Agriculture is ranked consistently as one of, if not the, most dangerous of occupations. Through EPA’s support, AFOP is able to help make that job a whole lot safer.” 

As the recipient of the cooperative agreement, AFOP will continue to enhance safe working conditions for agricultural workers at local, state and national levels, with targeted outreach to low-income, low-literacy, and non-English speaking farmworkers.

AFOP partners with local pesticide training providers to address the needs of farmworkers and facilitate access to pesticide safety education. In the new cooperative agreement, AFOP expects to expand their reach and partner with the following participating organizations in the region:

Arizona         

• Portable Practical Educational Preparation, Inc.

California      

• California Human Development
• Center for Employment Training
• Central Valley Opportunity Center
• La Cooperativa Campesina de California
• Employer’s Trainings Resource
• Proteus, Inc.

Hawaii

• Maui Economic Opportunity, Inc.

Nevada

• Oregon Human Development Corporation

Through its previous 2015-2020 cooperative agreement with EPA, AFOP trained 184,000 farmworkers and 30,000 children on pesticide safety. This work was made possible through

EPA’s National Farmworker Training grant program which focuses on training educators to teach agricultural workers and their families how to reduce the risks from pesticide exposure.

For more information, visit EPA’s Pesticide Worker Safety Cooperative Agreements webpage.

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