In a move that will allow more financing to help assist Black farmers, the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) has secured a $220,000 grant from retail giant Walmart.
The large business advocacy group reports that the funding will allow the NMSDC to help improve the program and support a second cohort of Black farmers.
A McKinsey & Company report showed that only 1.4 percent of farmers identify as Black or mixed race compared with about 14 percent a century ago. Moreover, Black farmers represent less than 0.5 percent of total U.S. farm sales. And maybe more alarming, these farmers operate at 70 percent of U.S. peer-level farm revenue.
With initial support from Cargill, NMSDC said it designed the Black Farmers Equity Initiative to address this issue and advance agricultural supply chain access for Black farmers. The program’s benefits include strategic business support or skills development.
BLACK ENTERPRISE reported the NMSDC launched its first cohort for Black Farmers Equity Initiative with a $120,000 grant from agricultural giant Cargill.
The 10 farmer who recently graduated that cohort will receive NMSDC certification as part of their program participation. Some topics in the program include getting certified as a minority business enterprise (MBE) as well as accessing capital.
The second cohort is expected to be selected later this year. Those interested can apply here.
“We are extremely grateful to Walmart, for their support of the Black Farmers Equity Initiative,” said Jetheda Hernandez, NMSDC senior director for strategic alliances and programs. “With its support we look forward to building on the success of the program’s first cohort and creating greater equity in the agricultural industry,”
Monique Carswell, director, Walmart.org Center for Racial Equity, added, “A focus of the Walmart.org Center for Racial Equity is Black entrepreneurship, and creating pathways for Black farmers to achieve parity in the agriculture industry remains a critical need, “Increasing opportunities for growth and scale often begins with certification and learning solutions, and we are pleased to support this initiative.”
