The Pigford Consent Decree, issued by Judge Paul Freedman, April 14, 1999:
The Situation Now
The court ordered injunctive relief was granted 14 years ago by Judge Paul L. Friedman of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The court decree provides agriculture production loans of $1.3 million dollars to 45,000 Black American farmers who have already met the qualification standards set by the court, but who have not received these loans. This failure to deliver the relief awarded is a continuation of the discriminatory practices that led Black farmers to seek a court ruling. It serves to undermine their ability to raise crops for market and retain their land.
From Market Barriers to New International Markets: Pigford Opens Doors to Black American Agricultural Trade with African Nations.
Full implementation of Pigford is required for Black American farmers to compete for fresh produce market shares of Black American annual buying power in Metro Atlanta, conservatively estimated at $14 billion.
Full implementation of Pigford will also bring fast track access to Black American farmers in international trade markets, opening doors to exports (and imports) in trade with African nations.
The Situation Now
The court ordered injunctive relief was granted 14 years ago by Judge Paul L. Friedman of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The court decree provides agriculture production loans of $1.3 million dollars to 45,000 Black American farmers who have already met the qualification standards set by the court, but who have not received these loans. This failure to deliver the relief awarded is a continuation of the discriminatory practices that led Black farmers to seek a court ruling. It serves to undermine their ability to raise crops for market and retain their land.
From Market Barriers to New International Markets: Pigford Opens Doors to Black American Agricultural Trade with African Nations.
Full implementation of Pigford is required for Black American farmers to compete for fresh produce market shares of Black American annual buying power in Metro Atlanta, conservatively estimated at $14 billion.
Full implementation of Pigford will also bring fast track access to Black American farmers in international trade markets, opening doors to exports (and imports) in trade with African nations.
- With full implementation of Pigford, Black American farmers can profoundly impact Central African agriculture development to combat human starvation and create new enterprise by global partnerships for transfer of information and product distribution technologies. 2,979 Pigford Qualified Georgia farmers have been trapped in turgid, bureaucratic inertia; binding deregulation of Black American farm markets. The first of the 2009 Black Belt JUBILEE Initiatives directly addresses these concerns.
- Upgrade USDA/Foreign Agriculture Service mission to Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, and to Economic Community of West African States, with trade zone guarantees of $150 million.
