The White House’s plan to provide $4 billion in debt relief to minority farmers took a major step forward on Friday when the Department of Agriculture cleared the way for eligible borrowers to receive the payments as early as June.
The debt relief plan
was tucked into the $1.9 trillion stimulus package at the urging of U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock to help disadvantaged framers who have faced a legacy of financial discrimination. It’s advancing despite
stiff pushback from opponents and
skepticism from some Black farmers worried it won’t take effect.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in an interview that eligible farmers will soon be getting notices for payments that will cover
up to 120% of outstanding debt. Under the plan, the Agriculture Department expects payments to begin in early June and continue on a rolling basis.
“It’s an important first step,” Vilsack said. “It’s reflective of the impact of over 100 years of policies and actions at the Department of Agriculture that have limited people from having opportunities. It acknowledges the disparity presently and it’s really forward-thinking.”
The program is moving forward despite growing controversy. White farmers have sued the USDA to stop the initiative, claiming reverse discrimination. And
three major banking groups recently complained the government initiative will undercut their profits and risk future loans.
Warnock has
touted the program across rural Georgia as a way to combat the tide of historic discrimination, though he’s acknowledged the epic challenges of effectively distributing the funds and using the program to address broader racial injustices.
In a statement Friday, he said he
fulfilled the promise he made to farmers in Byromville earlier this month that “help is on the way.”
“This debt relief is long overdue. And let me be clear: supporting socially disadvantaged farmers in rural Georgia means supporting local jobs and the local economies they are inextricably a part of,” Warnock said. “This announcement is good news that will help keep these families farming and preserve their connection to the land.”
Federal data shows Black farmers received a small fraction — about 0.1% — of the coronavirus relief under former President Donald Trump’s aid package for American farmers last year.
More broadly, Democrats hope the measure could help keep more minority farmers in business. Black farmers lost more than 12 million acres of farmland over the past century, and only a small number remain. In Georgia, roughly 2,800 Black farmers are still working the land.
About $4 billion in funding will go toward covering outstanding debt for farmers. Much of the remaining $1 billion would pay for new training programs and help historically Black colleges and universities finance research.
While Black farmers at Warnock’s events have welcomed the promise of the program, many have also expressed doubt the promises of debt relief will be fulfilled after decades of struggles navigating the federal bureaucracy. Vilsack vowed to restore their faith in the agency.
“Moving forward, we will devote ourselves to ending discrimination wherever it exists at USDA,” he said, “and working like never before to gain the trust and confidence of America’s farmers and ranchers.”
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