Policy Resolution AGR-26-20

WHEREAS, the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) has long recognized that Black farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers have played a vital and historic role in feeding the nation, advancing agricultural innovation, and sustaining rural economies since the founding of the United States;

WHEREAS, according to Reuters in 1910, nearly 1 million Black farmers owned more than 16 million acres of farmland—representing approximately 14% of all U.S. farmers—yet by 2017, Black farmers owned just 4.7 million acres, comprising less than 0.5% of all farmland and reflecting a loss of over 70% of Black-owned agricultural land over the past century;

WHEREAS, this systematic and sustained loss of land has resulted in the erosion of an estimated $326 billion in generational wealth, according to conservative analyses by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and land loss researchers at Tuskegee University, which excludes opportunity costs of how this wealth could have been leveraged;

WHEREAS, Black farmers and agricultural producers have faced systemic barriers in accessing federal and state programs, including discriminatory lending practices, denial of credit and crop insurance, exclusion from grant opportunities, and inequitable distribution of farm subsidies and assistance;

WHEREAS, heirs’ property, or land inherited without a clear title or formal will, remains a leading cause of land loss, affecting more than one-third of Black-owned farmland, which prevents families from accessing federal programs, loans, or disaster assistance, while leaving them vulnerable to partition sales and forced displacement;

WHEREAS, equitable access to land, markets, credit, and legal resources is essential to reversing these losses, ensuring that Black farmers, ranchers, and growers can compete and thrive on equal footing with their peers;

WHEREAS, investment in local food infrastructure, including food hubs, processing facilities, cold storage, cooperative distribution, and aggregation systems, can significantly increase the market capacity of Black producers while simultaneously helping to eliminate food deserts and improve food security in underserved urban and rural communities; and

WHEREAS, supporting the growth of Black-led cooperatives, technical assistance programs, and equitable financing initiatives will help restore generational wealth, strengthen local economies, and build sustainable food systems that benefit all Americans.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) calls upon state legislatures, Congress, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to implement policies and investments that support Black farmers, ranchers, growers, and producers by:

• expanding state and federal grants and loans to prioritize socially disadvantaged farmers and eliminate barriers to access;
• establishing legal assistance programs and state-supported heirs’ property resolution initiatives to protect Black landownership and ensure clear title;
• creating state and national registries of Black farmers and landowners to ensure equitable outreach and access to public resources;
• funding local and regional food infrastructure development, including food hubs, cold storage, and cooperative processing facilities;
• increasing access to markets through state procurement goals, farm-to-school and farm-to-institution programs, and public-private partnerships;
• ensuring civil rights compliance and accountability across all agricultural lending, grant, and subsidy programs;
• protecting and supporting the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Civil Rights at the Department of Agriculture to ensure this mission is met;
• ensuring that any subsidies or payments made because of the current tariff situation is equitably provided to Black farmers;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NBCSL supports the creation of Farmer Legal Resource Centers in partnership with historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), 1890 land-grant institutions, and community-based organizations to provide education, technical assistance, and support for Black farmers and heirs’ property owners; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the Vice President of the United States, members of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate, and other federal and state government officials and agencies as appropriate.

• Resolution ID: AGR-26-20
• Sponsored by: Rep. Sonya Marie Harper (IL)
• Policy Committee: Agriculture and Conservation Policy Committee