[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 18]
[House]
[Pages 25172-25173]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



 AMERICA CANNOT AFFORD TO IGNORE THE PLIGHT OF AFRICAN AMERICAN FARMERS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from North Carolina (Mrs. Clayton) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, as I have often spoken to this body about 
the plight of black farmers, again I rise today to speak about the same 
subject. Their problems and their possibilities transcend region and 
reach beyond where each of us lives and encompass a wide array of 
economic opportunities, and include not just black Americans but 
Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, Indian Americans, and women.
  This issue also affects the disabled. A wheelchair-bound white male 
in Michigan has felt the sting of unfair, discriminatory practices at 
the hands of those charged with serving, through the Agriculture 
Department, all citizens who make farming a way of life.
  The plight of black farmers also affects those who reside in urban 
America as certainly as it affects those in rural America. What if the 
cost of milk was prohibitive for the average person? It is in many 
parts of the world. What if eggs and bread was not readily available, 
even for those who could afford them? That is the situation for some on 
other continents. What if fresh fruit, vegetables, or poultry could not 
be found on our supermarket shelves? There are supermarket shelves 
devoid of these products.
  Just a short time ago, many Americans were touched by the kind of 
discomfort that citizens around the world experience on a daily basis 
when the meat crisis ground some hamburger sales to a screeching halt. 
The fate of farmers and the fate of urban dwellers are inextricably 
tied together. Discriminatory practices in extending loans, technical 
assistance, and resources of whatever kind will cost those in New York 
as surely as they will cost those in my district in Halifax County, 
North Carolina. Fading numbers of small farmers, black farmers, 
necessarily impact the quality of life and the cost of food and fiber.
  Mr. Speaker, the motivation for me to seek an assignment with the 
Committee on Agriculture was that it provided me an excellent 
opportunity for me to improve the quality of life for the residents of 
my area, the First Congressional District of North Carolina, a 
primarily rural and economically disadvantaged area with large and 
small farmers, both commercial and noncommercial.
  Farms have been important to this Nation's past; and farmers are 
vital to this Nation's future, especially small family farmers and 
ranchers. American producers, who represent less than 3 percent of the 
population, provide more than enough to meet the needs of our Nation, 
as well as many nations of the world.
  There has been a great decline, however, in our Nation's farms since 
the late fifties. In 1959, there were over 2.4 million small farms in 
the United States. Over 170,000 farms were in North Carolina, 
representing some 6.9 percent. But by 1978, the national number of 
small farms had declined to a little over 1.3 million, a loss of 1.1 
million small farms. In the same period, North Carolina lost 106,262 
small farms, bringing our total to 69,091 small farms, but still 
holding at 5 percent of the national total.
  It is also important to understand that by 1990, almost a quarter of 
all farm households had incomes below the poverty line, more than twice 
the national average. Life has become very tough for our American 
farmers.
  By 1992, there were only 1.1 million small farms left in the United 
States, a 45 percent decline from 1959. North Carolina had only a 
little over 59,000 farms left in 1992, a 23 percent decline; better 
than the national percentage,

[[Page 25173]]

however, but certainly nothing to brag about.
  Several factors have accelerated the demise of small producers: 
Globalization of commerce, economies of scale, limited access to 
capital, technological advances. The existence of worldwide markets for 
all commodities, not just agriculture, has created unique market 
forces.
  Indeed, black farmers have suffered more. More than anything else, 
Mr. Speaker, the American people have ignored the fact that only 1 
percent of the total farmers that now exist are African American; that 
is 18,816. This Nation cannot afford to ignore the plight of American 
farmers who happen to be African American.

                          ____________________