CHICAGO: The US Agriculture Department on Friday released details of a second round of COVID-19 aid for farmers, which will pay up to $14 billion to growers of major crops such as corn, soybeans and wheat, as well as livestock, dairy and tobacco.
President Donald Trump announced the assistance on Thursday night at a campaign rally in Wisconsin, a crucial battleground state. Farmers widely backed Trump in 2016.
The aid follows a $19-billion relief programme announced in April to help US farmers cope with disruptions to the food supply chain and plummeting demand from restaurants during the pandemic. Less than $10 billion has been paid out to date.
“We listened to feedback received from farmers, ranchers and agricultural organisations about the impact of the pandemic on our nations’ farms and ranches, and we developed a programme to better meet the needs of those impacted,” Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said in a statement.
The administration has been criticised for the $28 billion spent over 2018 and 2019 to compensate farmers for lost sales during a tariff war with China.
“Once again, the Trump administration is funnelling too much money to farmers that do not need it and not enough to those that are facing economic ruin,” said Scott Faber, senior vice-president of government affairs at the Environmental Working Group. “The only plausible explanation is that this is just old-fashioned vote buying.”
The new aid package will largely be funded by the Commodity Credit Corp, a Depression-era programme created to support farm income. Funds from the corporation do not need to be approved by Congress.
— Reuters
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