Assisting African American Farmers
Adapt to Climate Change
with the support of the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust
The Situation
- During 2017, 57 percent of African American farmers had incomes of less than $5,000 per year.
- Moreover, only seven percent of African American farmers, compared to 25 percent of all farmers, had annual incomes of over $50,000.
This bleak economic picture and the relative vulnerability that African American farmers have to the climate crisis are demonstrated by two associated indicators:
- 75 percent of African American farmers have no insurance against losses.
- Nearly 50 percent have no irrigation.
1Social justice in climate services: Engaging African American farmers in the American South (Link)
The Initiative
The William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust has awarded a grant to Nature For Justice for Phase 1 of this long term effort. In the first year we envision a 12-month process for developing and executing the initial phase of our work to support existing African American farmer networks in North Carolina, Virginia, and Florida as they build capacity to manage impacts from climate change, as well as other challenges to more resilient farms and communities.
More specifically, we believe the first six months of 2021 are critical to the success of the effort. Our early objectives include the following:
- Identify the thought leaders, decision makers, and civil society organizations that are invested in and impacted by the sustainability of African American farms.
- Gather information from those leaders on the potential opportunities and challenges of African American farmers and the policies necessary to build the capacity of and support and implement changes to benefit all communities and residents throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.
- Identify the most critical potential remedies to address these priorities, and potential networks (existing and new) to expand support for those priorities and remedies; and compare these priorities to those introduced by the incoming Administration and the 117th Congress.
- Investigate and identify market constraints and opportunities.
- Launch an ongoing effort in partnership with existing networks to support implementation of suggested remedies and encourage leaders to enact the policies and programs that will address those priorities.
The Future
As a result of these early efforts, we expect to lay the groundwork for collaboration between existing farmer networks and institutional and technical partners to co-create and co-implement strategies and actions that increase the resilience of African American farmers to the emerging issues they face due to climate impacts.
The goal for Nature for Justice is to connect and build upon these existing networks, resources, and capabilities to increase the capacity of African American farmers to build thriving operations and communities, expanding opportunity and achieving a higher quality of life.
Nature for Justice will be a valued partner to communities and networks in pursuit of these goals.
Resources
2017 Census of Agriculture, Highlights: Farm Producers
Revised census questions provide expanded demographic information
Census of Agriculture – Highlights: Black Producers up 5 percent since 2012; one-fifth serve or have served in the military
2017 Census of Agriculture, Highlights: Black Farmers Up 12 percent since 2007; most live in southern states.
Black Farmers in America, 1865-2000 The Pursuit of Independent Farming and the Role of Cooperative
Who Owns the Land? Agricultural Land Ownership by Race/Ethnicity
Chapter IV: Farm Statistics by Color and Tenure of Farmer (1920)
What’s in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 for Agriculture?
Relief bill is most significant legislation for Black farmers since Civil Rights Act, experts say
$5 billion would go to farmers of color, who have lost 90 percent of their land over the past century because of systemic discrimination and a cycle of debt
Black Farmers May Finally Get the Help They Deserve
A debt-relief program would be a step in repairing more than a century of discrimination by the Department of Agriculture.
‘Tired of getting slapped in the face’: older Black farmers see little hope in Biden’s agriculture pick
Two Biden Priorities, Climate and Inequality, Meet on Black-Owned Farms
The administration has pledged to make agriculture a cornerstone of its plan to fight warming, but also to tackle a legacy of discrimination that has pushed Black farmers off the land.
‘Jim Crow’ Land Ownership Spurs Black Farmers’ Appeals to Biden
USDA issued billions in subsidies this year. Black farmers are still waiting for their share.
“We have lived under economic terrorism for decades,” said Georgia farmer Eddie Slaughter. Subsidies issued during Covid-19 are just another form of exclusion, he and other farmers say.
‘Make Farmers Black Again’: African Americans Fight Discrimination To Own Farmland
There were nearly a million black farmers in 1920. Why have they disappeared?
Today there are just 45,000 African American farmers. One man is fighting to save them.
Widening Farm Subsidy Gap Is Leaving Black Farmers Further Behind
Booker, Warren, Gillibrand Announce Comprehensive Bill to Address the History of Discrimination in Federal Agricultural Policy
The Justice for Black Farmers Act will reform the U.S. Department of Agriculture and create a land grant program to encourage a new generation of Black farmers