$250 million set aside to recruit “diversity” farmers.
QUICK FACTS:
- According to a grant listing, the Biden administration will spend millions of dollars on grants to find minority farmers, ranchers, and owners of forest land in order to close the “diversity gap.”
- The grant listing indicates that President Joe Biden’s Department of Agriculture (USDA) plans to give minority colleges up to $250 million.
- The goal of the program will be “to achieve equitable participation” in USDA programs for farmers, ranchers, and owners of forest land.
- Funded institutions will be tasked with creating minority-specific scholarships and programs that offer “pathways to federal employment” with the USDA.
REASONING FOR THE GRANT:
- According to the grant listing, the USDA needs a “diverse” workforce to address today’s “most pressing societal challenges,” which include “climate change” and “equity.”
- Historically Black Land Grant Universities, Hispanic Agricultural Colleges, Tribal Colleges, Alaska Native Schools, and other Minority Schools are Eligible for the Grant.
- The USDA’s grant, titled “From Learning to Leading: Cultivating the Next Generation of Diverse Food and Agriculture Professionals,” allows institutions to receive between $500,000 and $20 million.
- According to the listing, the grant was initially approved under a clause in the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus package signed by Biden in March 2021.
BACKGROUND:
- Just days ago, The Washington Post reported that “Small farms are in trouble, but nobody seems to care,” in an article outlining the problems that small farmers are having in today’s economy.
- Likewise, Capitol Beat reported that economists have indicated Georgia farmers are struggling with a number of national and global challenges, including supply chain disruptions, trade wars, and droughts.
- These frustrations are causing farmers trouble all while the Biden administration is reportedly “playing the long game” in agriculture.
