Biography:
For the past 25 years, farmer and grassroots organizer Ben Burkett has worked throughout the South to champion the rights of small farmers and ensure their livelihoods through a movement known as food sovereignty. Even after his own farm was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, Ben worked with local farmers to develop a rebuilding plan and minimize the disruption. On a broader level, by influencing federal, state, and local policy, Ben is building the framework to sustain a new generation of small farmers, especially farmers of color. Ben, currently the director of the Mississippi Association of Cooperatives, has been a farmer since 1973. He is a board member of the Crescent City Farmer’s Market in New Orleans; secretary/manager of Indian Springs Cooperative located in Petal, Mississippi; vice president of the National Family Farmers Coalition; Vice President of Community Food Security Coalition; and a board member of the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group. He has traveled extensively to Africa, South America, and Europe to learn more about sustainable agricultural practices.
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