Funded through the California Climate Investments Program, the Santa Clara Valley Agricultural Plan is a collaboration between the County of Santa Clara and the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority and multiple stakeholders. The consultant team was led by Cultivate-CA. The Plan was approved by the County Board of Supervisors on January 9, 2018. This landmark plan – the first of its kind in California – includes analysis and recommendations for preservation and revitalization of agricultural lands near cities as a means for stopping sprawl, reducing GHG emissions, and elevating the many social, economic and environmental contributions of a robust regional agriculture.
SAGE wrote the Agricultural Economic Development Chapter, made contributions to the overall document and advised on implementation strategies. We are now in discussions with the County, Open Space Authority and other partners about implementing key strategies – several of which link to our San Jose Food Works project – including a branding and communication campaign, beginning farmers and ranchers support, and development of additional infrastructure to increase processing and distribution capacity.
