The Biden-Harris administration has announced the issuance of $2.2 billion in financial assistance payments to more than 43,000 farmers, forest landowners and ranchers who were subject to discrimination before January 2021.
The payments are being made through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)’s Discrimination Financial Assistance Program (DFAP), a press release from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) said.
“Farmers and ranchers work around the clock to put food on our tables and steward our Nation’s land. But for too long, many farmers and ranchers experienced discrimination in farm loan programs and have not had the same access to federal resources and support,” said President Joe Biden, according to the press release. “[T]oday’s action will enable more farmers and ranchers to support themselves and their families, help grow the economy, and pursue their dreams.”
For decades, the federal government and banks discriminated against Black farmers, reported The New York Times.
The Biden-Harris administration had originally created a program to provide $4 billion in debt relief to Black farmers, but the loan forgiveness payments were blocked by a federal judge amidst lawsuits brought by white farmers. Instead of fighting the lawsuits, Democrats designed DFAP, which is broader and less vulnerable to litigation.
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has conducted an extensive review of the USDA in an attempt to eliminate discrimination.
“USDA is actively working to build a department that ensures none of our customers are ignored or left behind. The Discrimination Financial Assistance Program is just one of many programs helping USDA rebuild trust, address systemic issues. and improve service to people who may have been underserved by USDA in the past,” the press release said.
USDA opened the application process last July. A year later, more than 43,000 individuals from all 50 states, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands will receive financial recompense through DFAP. The funds will help many start or continue farming, enhance their operations or help ease lost income.
“The completion of the Discrimination Financial Assistance Program is an important moment in USDA’s history, and in our journey to becoming a department that truly serves everyone who wants to participate in agriculture. While this financial assistance is not compensation for anyone’s losses or pain endured, it is an acknowledgement. My hope is that this will ensure that many farmers can stay on their farms, contribute to our nation’s food supply, and continue doing what they love,” Vilsack said in the press release.
Relief payments of $10,000 to $500,000 are being made to more than 23,000 individuals with a farming or ranching operation, with an average benefit of almost $82,000. Over 20,000 individuals who had planned to have a ranching or farming operation, but reported they could not because they had been unable to get a USDA loan, were given from $3,500 to $6,000 in assistance, with an average payment of $5,000.
John Boyd, National Black Farmers Association president, said the White House told him that Black farmers had received roughly $1.5 billion of the funds available, The New York Times reported.
“It’s long overdue. These are payments that these farmers desperately need,” Boyd said.
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