Black Belt Marketing and Innovation Center

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Black Belt Marketing and Innovation Center

The Tuskegee University Black Belt Marketing and Innovation Center (BBMIC) began as an endeavor to address the overarching need for both economic opportunities for agricultural producers and greater availability of fresh produce by developing a produce research facility, aggregation center, and processing incubator located in Selma, AL. The 18,000-square-foot BBMIC serves underserved farmers in the surrounding area by operating as a transformational research center, providing access to equipment for value-added processing, meeting space for training, and office space for Extension professionals. The facility is fully equipped with an inline washing conveyor, sorting tables, grading tables, vacuum packaging equipment, pea shellers, greens spinner, and cold storage. A refrigerated truck is dedicated to the movement of products to and from the facility. The BBMIC facility sits on 30 acres of land where high tunnels have recently been constructed for research and demonstration use. There are plans to expand the growing area to serve as an educational hub for the demonstration of organic practices, conservation practices, and climate-smart technologies for underserved producer communities. There is a tremendous opportunity to expand the BBMIC to become a major research, education, and Extension center in the Black Belt.

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