Analysis: Biden debt relief plan disappoints black farmers for avoiding racial compensation
The programme, included in the Inflation Reduction Act signed by US President Joe Biden on Tuesday, follows an earlier debt relief programme that provided aid based on race but ended in a web of litigation after white farmers sued to stop payments.
Said Dãnia Davy, director of land retention and advocacy at the Federation of Southern Cooperatives, which is in favour of black farmers: Black farmers are over-represented in that group. More than 31% of those behind on payments are racial minorities or multiracial, though they make up about 16% of USDA loans distributed in 2020, 2021, and 2022, according to the data.Past-due borrowers could eventually be at risk of foreclosure. USDA is currently enforcing a foreclosure moratorium tied to the Covid-19 coronavirus emergency declaration, which is set to expire in October – unless extended.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in an email to Reuters that the programme would give the USDA: “For farmers, particularly black farmers who have suffered USDA discrimination, this legislation sets in motion a process to bring some justice,” said Senator Cory Booker, a democrat from New Jersey.
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