SUMTER COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — For many Black farmers in the United States in the late 1800s and 1900s, farming was the only source of income and survival for their families.
Currently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that there are roughly 40,000 Black farmers nationwide. However, they own less than 1% of the nation’s farmland; white farmers own roughly 95%.
As we honor Black History Month, News13 anchor Annette Peagler talked with the Rev. Jermaine Walker, who at one point was in jeopardy of losing his farm to foreclosure before he got help from the nonprofit National Black Farmers Association and the USDA.
The Pinewood, South Carolina, native, who began learning how to farm at the age of 10, recently was named the Black Farmer of the Year. He inherited his father’s land in 1994.
“[I] grew up on the farm, [my] parents were farmers, their parents were farmers, and I’m sure the parents before them were farmers, but we know for sure, third generation of farmers, we know right here on this property,” Walker said.