It’s a good day for thousands of Black and minority farmers across the country because more than $2 billion in direct payments were paid to more than 23,000 farmers by the Biden-Harris Administration.
Why exactly? After decades of discrimination against Black farmers by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Biden-Harris is attempting to right those wrongs through the Inflation Reduction Act’s Discrimination Financial Assistance Program (DFAP). This act is meant to provide financial assistance to those minority farmers who were denied access to USDA lending and safety net programs, according to the USDA.
In a press release, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said, “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.”
While this is a good step forward for many Black farmers, they also understand that this will not totally solve some of the problems they still deal with to this day. National Black Farmers Association Founder and President John Boyd Jr. told the Associated Press, “It’s like putting a bandage on somebody that needs open-heart surgery. We want our land, and I want to be very, very clear about that.”
More from the Associated Press:
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.
But the money never came. White farmers in several states filed lawsuits arguing their exclusion was a violation of their constitutional rights, which prompted judges to halt the program shortly after its passage.
Faced with the likelihood of a lengthy court battle that would delay payments to farmers, Congress amended the law and offered financial help to a broader group of farmers. A new law allocated $3.1 billion to help farmers struggling with USDA-backed loans and $2.2 billion to pay farmers who the agency discriminated against.
The payments farmers received ranged from $10,000 to $500,000, according to the USDA.