Giving Compass' Take:
- Heather Chapman discusses how Black farmers over the past three years have been least likely to receive USDA direct loans and have received a lower amount of COVID-19 relief.
- How can the USDA take concrete action beyond debt relief to foster racial equity at the Farm Service Agency?
- Read about COVID-19 and the racial wealth gap.
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"Not only have Black farmers received the least amount of direct loans of any ethnic and racial group over the past three years, but also that the number and share of direct loans hit a 10-year low last year," Ximena Bustillo reports for Politico's Weekly Agriculture. That matters because Agriculture Department direct loans "are supposed to be a sort of last resort for farmers who cannot get credit elsewhere. Yet, white farmers have an acceptance rate that is nearly twice as high."
The issue goes beyond loans. Also, though farmers of color represent about 5 percent of American farmers, they got less than 1% of Coronavirus Food Assistance Program funding, according to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Bustillo reports.
Read the full article about racial inequity in USDA direct loans by Heather Chapman at The Rural Blog.