For Immediate Release:
November 18, 2020
Media Contact: Soledad Calvino, 415-972-3512, calvino.maria@epa.gov
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.
Learn more about EPA’s Pacific
Southwest Region. Connect with us on Facebook
and on Twitter.

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