Friday, March 23, 2012

USDA secretary says agency is removing barriers for Hispanic farmers

The Center for Rural Affairs is trying to find out why the number of Hispanic farmers in Nebraska and Missouri is declining. It recently published two reports about Hispanic farmer demographics in the states and the barriers in agriculture Latino farmers face. Clay Masters of Harvest Public Media interviewed Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack at the National Farmer's Union convention in Omaha earlier this month about what the Department of Agriculture is doing to help remove barriers for Latino farmers.

Vilsack said the agency is using a combination of several things to help remove barriers. It is taking advantage of it's "strike force" program which focuses on minority communities in which there has been historically high lack of access to USDA programs. He also said USDA is making information available in both Spanish and English, and is trying to increase diversity among employees. He added the agency is making a concerted effort to remove the barriers: "It might not be reflected in a study depending on the time frame of the study, but we are making progress. "We know we're making progress because our equal opportunity claims and our civil rights claims have gone down." (Read more)

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