85-5 Navajo Agricultural Product Industry: Farming On the Navajo Nation.



Monday, October 17, 2011: 3:35 PM
Henry Gonzalez Convention Center, Room 006C, River Level

Renae Pablo, Navajo Agricultural Products Industry, Farmington, NM
Navajo Agricultural Products Industry (NAPI) envisions development and management of a self-sustaining, profitable, and culturally and environmentally sensitive farming and agricultural processing business for the benefit of the Navajo Nation, the Navajo workforce, and regional and national economies. In the 1960’s the United States of Congress authorized the construction of the Navajo Indian Irrigation Project (NIIP), enacted by Public Law 87-638, to provide a water delivery system from the Navajo Dam Reservoir to 110,630 acres of irrigable land. The Statute included an annual diversion right of 508,000 acre feet of water to complement the development of these acres.

On April 16, 1970, Navajo Agricultural Products Industry (NAPI) was created by the Navajo Tribal Council. Navajo leadership envisioned that the enterprise would be an economic success, providing employment opportunities for the Navajo Pride. The interface of NIIP and NAPI is in fulfillment of a Navajo tradition that land is sacred and water is Holy, and both should be cared for to ensure the livelihood of future generations.

NAVAJO PRIDE brand products are recognized through the national and international agribusiness industry and are sold to direct customers, suppliers, and processors at competitive prices. NAVAJO PRIDE products include alfalfa, wheat potatoes, barley, corn, pinto beans, and flour. Using a skilled Navajo Workforce and vast amounts of natural resources, NAPI is successfully created a system and infrastructure to provide high quality agricultural products and goods to a national and global marketplace.

See more from this Division: ASA Section: Land Management & Conservation
See more from this Session: Symposium--Agricultural Experiment Stations In the South Central and Southwest: Challenges and Successes