The Maine Organic Farmers & Gardeners Association (MOFGA) on Wednesday announced a financial aid of one million dollars from the Partridge Foundation to help farmers flourish.

The MOFGA, the oldest and largest organic organization of the United States, is aiming to attract more and more farmers and expand its already extensive educational offerings to them under its Educational Programs Endowment.

Ted Quaday, executive director at the organic organization, said, "We have been dedicated to providing aspiring farmers with the information and the growing skills that they need in the field and in the marketplace. Organic agriculture is a growing economic opportunity in Maine."

Quaday added that Partridge Foundation would contribute another $1 million to help organic farmers flourish if the organization managed to raise $1 million on its own.

Quaday claimed that more than two hundred people had already completed their intensive journeyperson program over the past ten years, and those farmers created as many as 150 new farm businesses. More than 33 per cent of the farmers at the Portland Farmer's Market this season received training as MOFGA journeypersons.

Daniel Mays, one of the beneficiaries of those programs, said the training helped him a lot in starting out a new farm business with plenty of energy, and lots of new ideas.

Training aspiring farmers would also help create more and more jobs, which would provide a boost to the state and as well as national economy.