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Equity at the Center of 

All USDA Activities

Advancing Fairness and Equal Access 

American Rescue Plan, as 

amended by the Inflation 

Reduction Act, & 

Equity

USDA places equity at the center of 

decision-making and policymaking. Section 

1006 of the American Rescue Plan (ARP), 

as amended by the Inflation Reduction Act,

provides more than $2.7 billion in funding 

for USDA to take action to ensure 

underserved farmers, ranchers, and forest 

landowners have resources, tools, 

programs and technical support they need 

to succeed in agriculture.

Section 1006 provides funding to begin 

long-term equity work within USDA, which 

includes providing technical assistance, 

improving access to credit, addressing 

heirs' property claims and other land 

access issues, and ensuring that USDA 

programs are aligned with the needs and 

priorities of all producers. USDA has stood 

up an Equity Commission to identify 

barriers to accessing USDA programs. 

Section 1006 also provides funds to create 

career opportunities for next generation 

leaders in agriculture and to provide direct 

assistance to producers who have 

experienced past discrimination or bias in 

USDA programs.

For more information on USDA's equity 

efforts, please go to:

https://www.usda.gov/equity

USDA's Equity Action Plan

USDA has a historic commitment to 

ensure equity across all of its policies and 

activities. To this end, USDA seeks to 

improve access to programs and services 

for all stakeholders and rural 

communities, especially underserved

farmers, ranchers and forest landowners.

By putting equity at the center of 

decision-making and policymaking, 

USDA seeks to root out generations of 

systemic racism and lower barriers to 

access to ensure USDA programming is 

inclusive of all employees and customers. 

USDA publicly released its Equity Action 

Plan in April 2022, to support Executive 

Order 13985 Advancing Racial Equity

and Support to Underserved

Communities. The plan's main purpose is 

to build trust with technical assistance 

providers, using Section 1006, as 

amended, to support underserved 

producers.

Historically, USDA programs and 

services were designed to benefit those 

with land, experience, money and 

education, while leaving behind those 

without means, resources or privilege. 

For decades, congressional reports, 

investigations, court actions and 

stakeholder testimony have documented 

this long history of inequity and 

discrimination.

USDA's Equity Action Plan serves as an 

initial roadmap for ensuring programs and 

services are accessible.

ARP Section 1006, 

as amended,

Programs

Increasing Land, Capital 

and Market Access

This Notice of Funding Opportunity 

is seeking partner organizations for 

projects that increase access to land, 

capital, and markets. Projects should 

be innovative and help move 

underserved producers from 

surviving to thriving.

Total Value: Up to $300 million, 

FSA 

From Learning to Leading: 

Cultivating the Next 

Generation of Diverse 

Food and Agriculture 

Professionals

This competitive funding 

opportunity is aimed at attracting, 

inspiring and retaining diverse 

and talented students at eligible

institutions for careers in food, 

agriculture and related 

disciplines, with emphasis on 

federal government employment.

Total value: $250 million, NIFA

If you have questions, 

please reach out to 

USDA's Office of 

Partnerships and Public 

Engagement (OPPE)

Phone: 202-720-6350

Email: 

partnerships@usda.gov

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender. [August 2022]