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For further information, please contact Lorette Picciano, Savi Horne (Policy Team Chair), Quinton Robinson, or Michael Harris by email or at the address at the bottom of this page. Call to Policy Makers:Support Diversity and Equity in the 2007 Farm BillThe Farm and Food Policy Diversity Initiative is a growing collaboration of people of color, and community based organizations representing consumers, farmers, farm workers, leaders of rural and urban food initiatives, faith-based organizations, and a broad base of supporters of equity and justice. Together, we are advancing a set of program and policy recommendations for the 2007 Farm Bill. We are proposing, for example, new programs to invest taxpayer resources to redress past exclusion of socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers and assure future participation by producers of color, farm workers and consumers in rural and urban communities throughout all USDA programs and agencies. Our nation is becoming increasingly ethnically diverse and the 2007 Farm Bill must continue to break lasting patterns of past discrimination and manifest the importance of investing in minority producers. Currently, minority producers are only 5% of all U.S. producers, while minority consumers have grown beyond 30% of the total U.S. population. The Farm and Food Policy Diversity Initiative proposes that the 2007 Farm Bill reauthorization be implemented fairly, with increased transparency and accountability throughout all USDA agencies. Congress must enact policies to expand the economic opportunities for socially disadvantaged farmers, ranchers and farm workers to actualize the original USDA vision as the People's Department. 2007 Farm Bill policies must provide greater food safety measures for humans, pets and livestock. We all must help provide opportunities for local, healthy and affordable food. Currently, over 35 million people in the United States live in households that face food insecurity and/or hunger; the vast majority are people of color, and nearly 50% are children. The 2007 Farm Bill can assist impacted members of urban and rural communities - many of them people of color- to play an entrepreneurial role in developing stronger food systems and stronger communities. We the undersigned supporters of the Food and Farm Policy Diversity Initiative proposals urge the U.S. Congress to make an investment in socially disadvantaged producers and farmworkers and poor communities a premiere priority to create equitable partnerships in our U.S. Farm and Food Policy. As you write the next farm bill, please include the following priorities: Nutrition - Our 2007 Food and Farm Policy should make adequate nutrition in this nation a funding priority and ensure the needs of all citizens and legal immigrants are adequately met. We support the expansion of Food Stamp Program eligibility and benefit levels for all who will need them. We also urge you to provide Indian Tribes with the ability to include traditional foods in nutrition and commodity programs. Halt Accelerations and Foreclosures for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers - Thousands of farmers and ranchers face imminent foreclosure following inadequate protection and outcomes of civil rights complaints, and individual and class action lawsuits. Congress should establish a Minority Land Preservation Commission and place an immediate stay on all foreclosures and accelerations for filed discrimination cases and administrative complaints that are pending for all socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, pending review by this commission. This action is urgently needed to protect American farmers and ranchers facing imminent foreclosure due to inadequate protection and outcomes of civil rights complaints, and individual and class action lawsuits. Share Agriculture Benefits with Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers - The Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Rancher Initiative is a comprehensive program designed to overcome past exclusion and gaps and bring socially disadvantaged producers, who have been largely excluded in the past, into USDA programs. The program we propose would provide a combination of support and technical assistance, including direct payments, to socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers to help them access services equitably. Our proposal would address the full range of challenges these producers face: risk management; marketing; credit; access to land; conservation; transition from tobacco, peanuts, to other crops; meeting standards for marketing fresh products and organic production; value added; record keeping; and general farm management. This program would provide each farmer and rancher with up to seven years of assistance to become engaged in existing programs and to build new markets. Disaster Protection for Farmworkers - We support the request of Farmworker organizations to provide a space for farmworkers at USDA by establishing an Office of Farmworker Coordination and a Farmworker Coordinator at USDA be established. We also urge Congress to improve the emergency grants to farmworkers program and to establish a standing disaster fund for the program so USDA can act quickly in partnership with community based organizations to assist farmworkers in times of disaster such as during hurricanes and freezes. Healthy Food Choices - Our new Farm and Food Policy should address the severe national health crisis due to alarming increases in rates of obesity, diabetes, and other diet-related diseases, and the lack of access to fresh, healthy foods in many urban and rural communities. We support increased funding for the Community Food Project competitive grants program; expansion of programs to help elderly and low income Americans shop at farmer's markets; improvements of local purchasing requirements and adherence of school nutrition programs to dietary guidelines; and expansion of opportunities for nutrition education in schools. We also support expansion of the fresh fruit and vegetable program and of specialty crop purchases through Section 32 and the DOD Fresh Program with appropriate measures to assure socially disadvantaged producers have access to market through these programs. Assure Outreach, Transparency, and Accountability - Outreach focused on socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, with real transparency and accountability, are essential to achieving equity at USDA. The Section 2501 Outreach and Technical Assistance Programs remain a core partnership between USDA and community based organizations and minority serving institutions, which have helped socially disadvantaged farmers remain on their land. We urge your support for the strengthening and expansion of this program to $100 million. We also seek improved data requirements to allow monitoring of participation of producers in USDA programs. Also, to ensure equity, USDA agencies should be authorized to cover the cost of offices on Indian Reservations, and the Extension Indian Reservation Program should be expanded to serve at least 85 reservations. Access to Conservation Programs - Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers participate at low rates in most conservation programs. We urge the committee to improve their participation by establishing set asides and providing special outreach for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, and establishing a global cost share rate across programs at or above 90% for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. We also urge Congress to provide authority to NRCS to enter into grants and contracts with qualified community based organizations serving these farmer and ranchers. Farm and Ranch Land Protection - Many socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers own or seek to own land that is in dire need of access to conservation easements but these farm families currently do not participate in state and local FFLP programs. We propose that Congress strengthen the Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program by making it a purpose to protect land owned by socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, and by setting aside at least 10% of program funds to support this special Socially Disadvantaged Farm and Ranch Land Preservation Program. Access to Land and Credit for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers, Including New Entry/Transition and Succession Producers - Access to credit programs and loan servicing options to meet current needs of socially disadvantaged producers is critical. We recommend that Congress:
We further recognized that credit is essential to building a new generation including new entry producers, and to assuring the succession of ownership between generations. Current data suggest that 95% of participants in the beginning farm program are white males. We urge you to set aside funds and outreach within the program to assure socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers can participate equitably in beginning farm programs. Value Added Funding and Technical Assistance - Socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers participate at very low rates in the existing value added competitive grant program. Adding on-farm value to existing farm products is especially critical to these largely small-scale and diverse producers. The existing value added program should be amended to set aside at least 10% of funds for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers in a national pool with a peer review process similar to that used in the cooperative development program. Equity for Minority Serving Institutions - The Diversity Initiative supports more equitable access to research and extension support for Minority Serving Institutions. Specifically, we seek a Farm Bill that will assure equity in the funding of minority serving educational institutions including 1890 Universities, 1994 Tribal Colleges, and agriculturally related Hispanic and Asian Serving Institutions. We also urge Congress to provide Land Grant Status for agriculturally-related Hispanic Serving Institutions. Forestry - Forestry is important to socially disadvantaged producers and landowners. We urge you to support provisions to authorize and fund a special outreach program for forestry including preparation of adequate personnel to reach the growing number of socially disadvantaged forest landowners, to be conducted in cooperation with Minority Serving Land Grant Institutions. We also request that the U.S. Forest Service be required, when formulating plans and policies, to specifically consider and address local, traditional indigenous uses for herb gathering, and other historic, culturally sensitive activities, including livestock grazing. Cost share rates in Forestry programs should be set at 90%, and 20% of funds should be set aside for socially disadvantaged landowners. We thank you for your efforts to improve equity and access in our farm and food policy. Sincerely, Farm and Food Policy Diversity Initiative Policy Team
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