According to McKinsey & Company, today just 1.4% of farmers identify as Black or mixed race compared with about 14% a century ago.
Furthermore, these farmers represent less than 0.5% of total U.S. farm sales.
Perhaps, even more disturbing, Black farmers operate at 70% of US peer-level farm revenue. Because of this extreme inequity in the U.S. agricultural industry and thanks to the support from Cargill, the National Minority Supplier Development Council Inc.® (NMSDC®) launched the Black Farmers Equity Initiative.
Cargill’s Black Farmer Equity initiative was introduced one year ago to help address racial inequity in agriculture – focusing on increasing participation, profitability and productivity of Black farmers, ranchers and growers. Working alongside its
customers, Cargill is committed to supporting farmer livelihoods by improving market access, is training 10 million farmers globally by 2030 and is increasing supplier diversity by spending $10 billion with small businesses and $1 billion with certified diverse-owned businesses globally.This collaborative initiative aims to create a pathway for emerging Black farmers to achieve parity in the agriculture industry with learning solutions, certification, lending, networking, and new contracts. The
program consists of two elements: a learning program and strategic business support. Black Farmers will receive learnings on:
• Certification as a minority business enterprise (MBE) and how it can
open opportunities for Black farmers.
• Access to capital, getting capital ready, and how to leverage micro-loans.
•
storage, putting acreage into production and equipment management
• Negotiation skills.
• Developing a plan for and managing growth.
• Reviewing opportunities and challenges shared by corporate members.
To learn more visit: www.nmsdc.org/black-farmers-equity-initiative or contact desha.elliott@nmsdc.org for questions about this program.