HISTORY

IMGA was established in 2018 and in 2019 received a USDA grant to define and grow the Microgreens Industry.

Rick Pate, Commissioner, along with Johnny Blackmon and their Team from of the Alabama Department of Agriculture & Industries, saw the vision of Microgreens as an emerging industry and recognized the need to create an organization to support “micro-farmers” not only in their state but nation wide.

After receiving her application, they recommended Nani – Waiata Koromete receive a 2019 Specialty Crop Block Grant Award from the USDA to start such an organization. The USDA agreed and has charged the IMGGA with the task of creating the organization to:

Collect data of the number of Microgreen growers in the USA.
Collect data for the Economic Activity of the Growers for 2018, 2019, and 2020.
Support Microgreen Growers with scientific studies compiled by the University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Increase Microgreen Growers by 80% over the next 3 years.
Educate the public on Microgreens
Provide Consumers with Information of the Health Benefits of Microgreen
On October 7, 2019 in a ceremony at the Richard Beard building on federal, in Montgomery, Alabama, Commissioner Pate presented Nani Koromete with a USDA -AMS Award for the Purposes of “ESTABLISHING AN INTERNATIONAL MICROGREEN GROWERS ASSOCIATION”.

For the Industry Member

Promote business opportunities for existing and new microgreen growers to retailers and consumers.
Establish recognized industry and health standards from within this association that apply solely to this unique specialty crop.
Create a strong, ethical, industry trade group, to give our members the authoritative voice in the Microgreen Growing Industry.
Establish the only centralized database on microgreens, accessible to members only, which will provide potential growers with the confidence of scientific information, easily adopted into their marketing plan to safely start their business, which would otherwise, never been possible.
Develop this industry with responsible leadership through the best of scientific research.
Encourage and recruit growers to fill the demand and provide competitiveness within this specialty crop market.

The IMGA platform and data collected will help growers sell, advertise, promote, market, generate publicity, attract new customers, and raise customer awareness.

For the Retailers and Consumers

Provide education about microgreens.
Will assist consumers and retailers looking to connect with microgreen growers

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For the USDA and other Government Regulatory Bodies Internationally

Enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops through increased sales.
Enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops through enhancing or improving the economy as a result of specialty crop development.
Produce annual reports on the status of the microgreens industry.
Research from our team done to date, has found no entities collecting data on microgreen industry sales in dollars, so there is no baseline.
Determine a baseline of sales in dollars of microgreens in U.S.
Determine the number of farmers in U.S. that identify themselves as commercial microgreen growers.
Contact as many growers in the nation as possible with the intention to identify any shortfalls of information that the IMGA, its growers, suppliers and stakeholders need in order to evolve microgreens specialty crop into thriving food producing industry.