Penn Vet | FAIR FARMS

FAIR Farms Gambia

The Foundation for Agro-Farming Innovation and Resilience (FAIR Farms), in collaboration with the School of Veterinary Medicine, operates FAIR Farms. FAIR Farms investigates beneficial livestock approaches and climate-resilient practices through an integrated, community-based research farm.

FAIR Farms is a scale-up of the Gambia Goat Dairy (GGD), a 2016 pilot project that explored creating the first commercial goat-milking facility. The GGD addresses local issues including food security, viable household incomes, improved living standards, and other vital, community-defined needs.

Vision

We envision a FAIR world, where everyone is nourished, well, and thriving. Where food brings us together, nourishes us and our earth, and supports our diverse global cultures. Our international team does this through our teaching and research.

Mission

Through our research to impact approach, we investigate the following Areas of Impact as core research themes, and deploy effective outreach strategies to teach what we learn. We welcome collaboration to achieve our goals:

Improved Maternal and Child Health
Women and Youth Empowerment
Inclusive Economic Development
Food Security and Food Sovereignty
Environmental Stewardship

Our Approach

FAIR Farms, is built on the principles of social entrepreneurship, a business model oriented to positively address environmental and societal issues.

Our integrated circular farming methods blend traditional ecological knowledge with research evidence with local traditions that harmonize ecosystems, enhance resource and nutrient management, and responsibly raise livestock to leverage their societal benefits. FAIR Farms provides the local community access to affordable, nutritious animal-protein foods. While one farm cannot eradicate poverty's structural complexities, it does pave the way for replicable social-enterprise models, extending their impact across The Gambia and beyond.

FAIR Farms provides the local community access to affordable, nutritious animal-protein foods, while sharing best-practices for creating agricultural enterprises of their own.

Education, Outreach, Advocacy

In addition to its function as a demonstration farm, FAIR Farms is a key component of effective in-country outreach and international education; expanding public awareness and advocacy to inspire local (and regional) adoption of equitable food systems across West Africa.

FAIR Farms educational programs currently under development include animal husbandry, entrepreneurship, food production, and marketing. Immersive learning opportunities exist for the local Gambian workforce, and for farmers from across the African continent.

Students from the University of Pennsylvania also have the opportunity to achieve a working knowledge of local practices through direct interaction with FAIR Farms’s agriculture team; to explore the value of a hyper-local business model; and to promote intercultural awareness and communication.

Who We Are

Our leadership and on-the-ground team drive our mission.

Brianna Parsons, VMD, MSEd
Co-Founder, FAIR Farms
Lecturer in Sustainable Agriculture
Email: bpars@vet.upenn.edu