[caption id="attachment_6569" align="aligncenter" width="1014"]
Picture: Collected[/caption]
Lawyers raised two bills this week to help minority farmers, aimed at tackling long-term injustices in agriculture sector of United States.
Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock on Tuesday (9 Feb. 2021) introduced a $5 billion Emergency Relief for Farmers of Color Act as part of the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief stimulus package. It aims to provide immediate financial relief to Black, indigenous and Hispanic farmers.
The bill would provide direct payments to farmers of color and allocate $1 billion to address systemic racism at the U.S. Agriculture Department, provide legal assistance to farmers of color and grants and loans to improve land access for minorities.
Black farmers have long viewed the USDA suspiciously, and President Joe Biden’s administration has pledged to address past injustices.
On Tuesday it expressed support for Warnock’s proposal.
“It’s a bill crafted to address the immediate need for debt relief among those who have been marginalized and are hurting while also advancing long-term issues,” USDA Chief of Staff Katharine Ferguson said in a statement.
Warner’s proposal followed a more comprehensive bill introduced Monday night by New Jersey Senator Cory Booker: the Justice for Black Farmers Act.
Booker’s bill would establish a new agency within the USDA to purchase land and convey grants of up to 160 acres to eligible Black individuals. It also would create a new Socially Disadvantaged Farmer and Rancher Bank to offer new avenues of lending for farmers once turned away from USDA programs.
“Overtly discriminatory and unjust federal policy has robbed Black families in the United States of the ability to build and pass on intergenerational wealth,” said Booker. Find more.
Source: Online/SZK
Comment Now