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Black And Other Minority Farmers To Get $2 Billion From USDA

  • Writer: By The Financial District
    By The Financial District
  • Aug 5, 2024
  • 1 min read

The Biden administration has doled out more than $2 billion in direct payments for Black and other minority farmers who were discriminated against by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the president announced, Summer Ballentine reported for the Associated Press (AP).


The USDA has a long history of refusing to process loans for Black farmers.



More than 23,000 farmers were approved for payments ranging from $10,000 to $500,000, according to the USDA. Another 20,000 who planned to start a farm but did not receive a USDA loan received between $3,500 and $6,000.


Most payments went to farmers in Mississippi and Alabama. USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack told reporters that the aid “is not compensation for anyone’s loss or the pain endured, but it is an acknowledgment by the department.”



The USDA has a long history of refusing to process loans for Black farmers, approving smaller loans compared to white farmers, and in some cases foreclosing quicker than usual when Black farmers who obtained loans ran into problems.


National Black Farmers Association (NBFA) founder and president John Boyd Jr. said the aid is helpful, but it’s not enough. “It’s like putting a bandage on somebody that needs open-heart surgery,” Boyd said.



“We want our land, and I want to be very, very clear about that.” Boyd is still fighting a federal lawsuit for 120% debt relief for Black farmers that was approved by Congress in 2021.


Five billion dollars for the program was included in the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus package.




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