The Biden administration is spending $3.1 billion to convince farmers and ranchers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and sequester carbon in the ground. It also hopes that the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities grants will help make amends for a century of systemic discrimination by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) against Black, Native and other "historically underserved" farmers.
The program already faces obstacles, though, amid criticism that many projects receiving the most money are run by giant for-profit companies and major agricultural lobbying groups that don't appear to have a clear plan for how they will serve disadvantaged farmers, though every funded project includes an equity goal. Much smaller grants have gone to projects led by historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and other minority-serving organizations.
Then there's the central question of trust — or lack thereof. The USDA'shistory of discriminating against Black farmers and other ethnic and racial minorities — by denying them access to low-interest loans, grants and other assistance — resulted in significant financial losses for those farmers throughout the 20th century and in many cases led to the loss of their land. So there remains a significant lack of trust in the USDA and government programs generally. Some reject anything with the federal government's stamp on it, while others may not even be aware of programs they're eligible for.
While strict measurements are in place for quantifying climate progress, grantees will evaluate their own success or failure on matters of equity. Also, theUSDA's definition of "historically underserved" farmers includes not just ethnic and racial minorities but veterans, young and beginning farmers, women and those operating at poverty level — so it's possible for a project to meet the USDA's equity goal without serving any Black farmers at all.
But even having an equity goal is consistent with what some see as a nascent effort by the USDA to improve relationships and foster trust with these communities. In the 2021 American Rescue Plan, the massive COVID-19 relief package, $4 billion was allotted to debt relief for Black farmers. Some white farmers filed a lawsuit claiming discrimination, and the 2022 Inflation Reduction Actrevoked the promised funds and created arace-neutral program instead. Many Black farmers eligible for the original debt relief felt once again that the USDA had broken a promise.
"This is an area that's clearly been a challenge for USDA for a long time," said Robert Bonnie, USDA undersecretary for farm production and conservation. "And as we think about everything we do, including climate stuff, we want to make sure we build in equity."
The climate-smart projects run for five years, so it's too soon to know whether any will meet the government's equity goal or even how the USDA will measure success given the lack of clear metrics.
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