Agric Organics-Massachusetts
Hameed and Ayo Bello are the visionaries behind Agric Organics. Hameed has practiced agriculture in one form or another for most of his life. Starting in Nigeria in the classroom, he later applied his knowledge in the fields of Texas. The Bellos now farm outside Springfield, Massachusetts, in a suburban neighborhood of Wilbraham. Hameed’s grandmother greatly inspired his appreciation for growing food and medicine. Watching and learning as she used plants to treat common ailments motivated Hameed to study pharmacology.
He wanted to understand, at a chemical level, how plants keep people healthy. While studying pharmacy, Hameed came to better understand the symbiotic relationship between food and medicine. Thus, Agric Organics was born.
As Hameed and Ayo began their first full season on their new land in Wilbraham, they used a Brighter Future Fund grant to purchase four high tunnels to protect tender, high-value crops from moody Massachusetts weather.
American Farmland Trust, with support from Tillamook Creamery, launched the Brighter Future Fund to help farmers face pressing challenges like climate change and COVID-19.
Hameed says funding like this to small-scale farmers “means everything to us.” Farmers just getting started often lack the capital to invest or use as loan collateral. Funding for high tunnels means Agric Organics can more consistently provide for their community, with less worry about losing crops. “We are dreaming big and in vivid colors.” Community service motivates Hameed and Ayo to farm.
They farm to provide accessible healthy food and give sound advice on the nutritional benefits of their produce. In the process, they are growing the community by inviting their neighbors and customers to experience the farm while also helping to shape other farmers. Their farming methods focus on building the health of the land and can be adapted by almost anyone.
“We are dreaming big and in vivid colors,” Hameed says. In their dream farm, they see a thriving ecosystem that nurtures people in body and spirit. They imagine families and friends spending time on the farm, learning, making connections with each other, and appreciating what a unique value they have in their backyards.
