Native Food Crops for Innovative Climate-Smart Production Models and Supply Chains

The Case of Blue Elderberry in the West

The project aims to assist early-adopter Tribal, underserved and small-scale producers to successfully produce a marketable elderberry crop from perennial planting, measure carbon sequestration and develop local processing capacity. Producers would receive an incentive payment per linear foot of elderberry planting, to cover the costs of establishment, maintenance, and the implementation of the additional suite of climate-smart agriculture practices.

The project would identify potential sales channels (including local direct sales, value-added products, sales to identified and potential companies/distributors/brands, and Indigenous tribal communities), provide processing capabilities, and develop marketing materials.