Darius

I grew up in a traditional setting in Liberia, Africa on the farm with my parents. We farmed traditionally all year-round. The major income of our family was farming. My parents sent me to school, and when I completed high school, I told my late Dad that I was going to college to study Agriculture in order to improve our farming system for the family. My Dad encouraged me to go ahead with my dream.

In 2011, I obtained a Bachelor of Science in general Agriculture. Growing my own farming business has been my goal for me and my family. When I immigrated to the United States with my family in 2015, I landed in Philadelphia. I could not even find a place put in a garden, so I felt that Philadelphia was not a good fit for my farming dream. So I did a search online for states where agriculture was a key industry. This is when I discovered Iowa and was immediately determined to move here in search of my dream.

My wife and children are supporters of what I do. When I moved to Iowa with my family, we got connected to Peace Reform Church. Through the church, we were given a small space to put in a garden. After one year, a friend of mine recommended me to Feed Iowa First, a nonprofit based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Based on what I could take on, I was able to secure a larger piece of land to farm. My goal is to farm on a larger scale.