In 2010, the Division of Research and Sponsored Programs created and began releasing the Profiles in Research series, part of the division’s strategic plan which addresses research
communications. Each issue features the research and achievements of an individual researcher or research team from Tennessee State University. Through the Profiles in Research series,
the university, stakeholders, and public are informed about research initiatives, endeavors, and discoveries accomplished by researchers and through research programs, resulting largely from
external funding; and researchers are recognized for their successes in acquiring research awards.
Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged African-American,
Hispanics and Women Farmers, Forest Landowners and Ranchers in Tennessee
Funded by:
United States Department of Agriculture
Office of Advocacy and Outreach
Award:
$400,000.00
Duration:
October 1, 2011 – August 31, 2013
Units:
Cooperative Extension Program/
College of Agriculture, Human, and Natural Sciences
Project Contact:
Dr. Arvazena E. Clardy
[email protected]
(615) 963-4887
SUMMARY
INVESTIGATOR
The project, “Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged African-American,
Hispanic and Women Farmers, Forest Landowners and Ranchers in Tennessee” provides
educational information, technical training, and assistance to minority, socially
disadvantaged farmers in three (3) hub locations in Tennessee – North Central, South
Central, and West Tennessee regions, consisting of fifteen counties.
North Central Region
Counties
Montgomery
Robertson
Rutherford
Stewart
Sumner
Wilson
Arvazena E. Clardy, Ph.D.
Dr. Arvazena E. Clardy is Assistant Professor of
Ornamental Horticulture in the Department of
Agricultural and Environmental Sciences of the
College of Agriculture, Human, and Natural
Sciences and the Cooperative Extension Program
at Tennessee State University.
Principal Investigator,
Outreach and Assistance for Socially
Disadvantaged African-American, Hispanics and
Women Farmers, Forest Landowners and
Ranchers in Tennessee
Read more...
South Central Region
Counties
Bedford
Giles
Lincoln
Maury
Williamson
West Tennessee Region
Counties
Fayette
Hardeman
Haywood
Tipton
The counties were selected based on the following criteria: (1) number of AfricanAmerican, Hispanic and women landowners, (2) number of socially disadvantages and
underserved farmers from these groups, (3) the need for improved production,
management, marketing, and environmental stewardship practices, (4) training in the
technological practices, and (5) forest management and best management practices.
Approximately 3,381 socially disadvantaged African-American, Hispanic and women
farmers, forest landowners, and ranchers are benefitting from this program.
Current needs assessments indicate assistance for improvement in the areas: niche market
development; enhancement of entrepreneurship and rural business development; improved
financial and risk management strategies; conservation and environmental stewardship;
increased education on farm safety and bio-security issues; forest best management
practices and forest stewardship; food safety; alternative horticultural production; organic
production; bio fuels; agricultural technologies; and development of marketing hubs for
locally produced commodities. These areas are being addressed through use of
educational training at each hub, one-on-one technical assistance, field day events, county
demonstrations, workshops, and a yearly state-wide TSU/USDA two-day training event in
Nashville, Tn.
Four (4) undergraduate and four (4) graduate students are benefitting from research
experiences on this project; these students presented at Minorities in Agriculture, Natural
Resources, and Related Sciences (MANRRS) in Atlanta, Ga., and the Association of
Research Director’s (ARD) Symposium in Jacksonville, Fl., earlier this year.
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Tennessee State University ● Division of Research and Sponsored Programs ● 3500 John A. Merritt Blvd. ● Nashville, TN 37209-1561 ● Telephone: (615) 963-7631 ● FAX: (615) 963-5068 ● Email: [email protected] ● Website: www.tnstate.edu/research
Arvazena E. Clardy, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Ornamental Horticulture
College of Agriculture, Human, and Natural Sciences
Cooperative Extension Program
Tennessee State University
Dr. Arvazena E. Clardy is Assistant Professor of Ornamental Horticulture in the Department of Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences of the College of Agriculture, Human, and Natural Sciences (CAHNS) and the
Cooperative Extension Program. She received her B.S. degree in Plant Sciences (Ornamental Horticulture
option) from Tennessee State University in December of 1989; M.S. degree in Agriculture from Tennessee
State University in 1993; and Ph.D. degree from Alabama A. and M. University in 1999 in Plant and Soil
Sciences (Plant Physiology option). Dr. Clardy was employed in agricultural research at Tennessee State
University from 1997 to 1999, taught in the Metro-Nashville Public Schools system at Antioch High School
for five years, and was employed with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture before returning to
Tennessee State University’s Cooperative Extension Program in 2008. Her areas of competency are in the
fields of ornamental horticulture; plant growth regulators and hormones; and nutrition and plant propagation.
During her academic and extension career, Dr. Clardy has worked with small and limited resource producers
in developing alternative horticultural (herbs, vegetables and flowering plants) and exotic vegetable crops for
sale and alternative marketing strategies; and community, school and individual gardens. Dr. Clardy has
mentored, trained, and sponsored eight (8) undergraduate and five (5) graduate students, and served on six (6)
other graduate student committees. Presently, she serves as the Plant Science Advisor for the College of
Agriculture, Human, and Natural Sciences. Dr. Clardy also mentors students in the Tennessee Louis Stokes
Alliance for Minority Participation (TLSAMP) and trains youth in the Developing Future Scientists Program
(summer camp) which exposes students from the 5th grade to the 11th grades to various areas of Agriculture.
She has organized two (2) Statewide Outreach and Assistance Conferences (2012, 2013) to educate and
provide training for small and limited resource producers in the state of Tennessee. Dr. Clardy is a native of
Nashville, Tn.
External Funded Grants
USDA-Outreach Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers (OASDFR): Outreach and
Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged African-American, Hispanic and Women Farmers, Forest Landowners
and Ranchers in Tennessee. $400,000. October 1, 2011.
USDA-Outreach Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers (OASDFR): Outreach and
Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged African-American Farmers, Forest Landowners and Ranchers in
Tennessee. $400,000. October 1, 2010.
Recent Publications
Clardy, A. and Crudup, S., The Effects of Two (2) Slow-Release Fertilizers on Fruit Growth, Development
and Weight of Twelve (12) Pepper Varieties. Publication Number: TSU-13-0098 (A)-4f-17090, Tennessee
State University (2013).
Clardy, A. and Crudup, S., Alternative Ornamental Crop Production. Publication Number: TSU-13-0086 (A)
-4g17090, Tennessee State University (2013).
Clardy, A.E., Sustainable School Gardens and Green Education: Familiar Lessons through a New Lens. The
Agricultural Education Magazine. March/April 2012, pp 20-21.
Clardy, A.E., Care and Maintenance of Christmas Cactus-Publication Number: TSU-10-0043 (A)-3-17090.
Clardy, A.E., Tropical Plant Care and Maintenance-Publication Number: TSU-10-0048 (A)-140-17090.
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