Agriculture industry leaders will gather in Yuma at the Arizona Interagency Farmworkers Coalition conference this week.
KAWC’s Stephanie Sanchez reports.
The 3-day conference will gather many organizations who serve the state’s migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their families.
Participating organizations include the Arizona Department of Economic Security, Community Legal Services, Arizona Department of Agriculture, Migrant Education and community health centers.
Arizona Alliance for Community Health Centers special populations coordinator Emily Oake said the conference’s main goal is to raise money for scholarships to give to students enrolled in Migrant Education programs and plan to attend college.
Oake says about 90 leaders are expected to attend.
"This year’s theme is providing services in a new environment and that is both a physical environment in Arizona as the crops and farms change to accommodate different needs as well a new administration at a federal level," Oake said.
The conference starts Tuesday and will be held the Yuma Hilton Garden Inn. General workshops include migrant education, farmworker health, and labor issues.
The scholarship awards dinner will be held Wednesday evening.
Participants will also tour the Yuma Agricultural Center Experimental Station for the University of Arizona on the last day of the conference.