As the Agriculture Secretary and as the Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, we are committed to reducing barriers to access, combating entrenched structural and systemic racism and creating a more equitable and more just agricultural community, here in Georgia and across America.
USDA is diving deep into understanding the root causes of barriers to access to be able to take actionable steps toward reversing decades of systemic inequality. The House Agriculture Committee continues to seek solutions in Congress to make the world of agriculture more equitable.
In partnership, we are striving for an agriculture sector that is prosperous for all by ensuring historically underserved producers are no longer ignored or left behind.
This past March, the House Agriculture Committee held its first-ever full Committee hearing in its 200-year history to discuss the state of Black farmers in our country. We shared the history of challenges and engaged in just one of many conversations to come on how to address the systemic barriers that have limited opportunity for Black, brown, indigenous and other underserved producers. Importantly, the Committee heard directly from Black farmers on the actions that must be taken to ensure that their operations continue to exist, while also creating new opportunities for the next generation of farmers.
Credit: contributed
Credit: contributed
As we continue to center the voices and experiences of underserved Americans, including those with disabilities, LGBTQ+, people of color and those who sit at the intersection of these communities to ensure they have seats at the proverbial table to co-create solutions to advance equity in agriculture – including through a series of listening sessions recently held by USDA – we are also taking immediate action.
For example, USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) recently announced nearly $22 million in investments toward supporting agricultural research at the 1890 Historically Black College and Universities (HBCU’s) in our nation’s Land-Grant University System. Among the list of 1890 land-grant institutions to receive a portion of the funding from NIFA was Fort Valley State University in Fort Valley, Georgia. The project that was funded will focus on student experiential learning in agricultural artificial neural networks, or AGRI-ANN, through curriculum and infrastructure development.
This announcement from NIFA comes on the heels of Chairman Scott – who is an alum of an 1890 land-grant institution, Florida A&M University, and knows firsthand the transformative power of these universities in creating the next generation of farmers and agricultural leaders – having led the effort in Congress to provide $80 million in scholarship funding for the 1890 National Scholars Program just two years ago. He recently introduced additional legislation that would make this program permanent.
Last month, USDA also stood up the new Heirs’ Property Relending Program, which was authorized in the 2018 Farm Bill as a bipartisan solution in Congress and announced the availability of $67 million in competitive loans for qualified applicants.
Heirs’ property is a legal term that refers to family land inherited without a will or legal documentation of ownership. It has historically been challenging for heirs to benefit from USDA programs because of the belief that they cannot get a farm number without proof of ownership or control of land. However, USDA provides alternative options that allow an heir to obtain a farm number.
While heirs’ property is an issue that cuts across geography and race, it is disproportionately Black and indigenous farmers who have inherited land without clean title or whose land title is complex.
In Georgia alone, the economy is being undermined by an estimated $34 billion due to between 11 and 25 percent of the property in the state’s 159 counties likely being heirs’ property. This comes as a direct result of the generational poverty caused when families are unable to qualify for financing.
Heirs’ property is the leading cause of involuntary land loss for Black landowners, and this new program will provide an avenue for heirs to obtain a legal title to their agricultural land, preserving the family’s farm legacy, and creating a path for heirs to be eligible for USDA and other government assistance they have previously been denied.
These initiatives only scratch the surface of the work that must be done to create opportunities across USDA and beyond. For example, USDA should have the tools and authorities to be a partner and ally to producers, not just a lender of last resort. It will take willful collaboration between the Department, Congress and the President to come to solutions that best serve all Americans.
A prime example of that collaboration in action is the Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government The Executive Order, which was signed on Jan. 20, 2021 by President Biden, seeks a comprehensive approach to advancing equity for all, including people of color and others who have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality. As a result, USDA will be standing up an Equity Commission that ensures equity across the Department while removing barriers to access our programs and services.
These achievements are only lucrative when we choose to move toward the same goal – and the successful passing and ongoing implementation of the American Rescue Plan prove that it is possible.
In Congress and at USDA, we share in our hope – and in our dedication – to confront the hard reality of past discrimination and its lingering harm and achieve long-lasting prosperity for all.
Tom Vilsack is U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary.
U.S. Rep. David Scott, D-Atlanta, is House Agriculture Committee Chairman.
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