The US Department of Agriculture will be providing compensation to individuals and entities that were subject to discrimination by the agency in the past. The payments will occur this year.

Following an initiative to tackle inequity in its services, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that it will allocate billions of dollars to farmers who have experienced discrimination from the agency before the end of this year.

The Biden administration has promised to mend the USDA's strained relations with farmers of color. A report last year discovered that Black farmers lost $326 billion worth of land due to historical prejudice in the agency's lending programs.

To hold to this commitment, the agency is dispersing $2.2 billion, backed by the Inflation Reduction Act, to those who have endured prejudice in USDA lending programs. They will hire vendors and community organizations to handle these payments by 2023, they declared on Wednesday.

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack stated, “

”These funds are a further step in the ongoing journey towards justice and a USDA that is inclusive and equitable.”

The government is also offering debt relief to farmers who have suffered economically, which will mainly benefit farmers of color according to USDA data. However, their failed effort to focus this help by race, which was obstructed by white farmers suing the government last year, left some Black farmers feeling frustrated.

On Tuesday, the USDA's commission proposed thorough reviews and transformations to both its internal and external procedures to guarantee racial and gender equality.

The USDA will pick its partners in the distribution of IRA funds by late spring, they said.

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