ROANOKE TIMES 

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, July 20, 1990                   TAG: 9007200281
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

LEGISLATION TO HELP MINORITY FARMS TOUTED

With minority-owned farms disappearing three times as fast as white-owned farms, a coalition of religious and farm groups called Thursday for congressional action to reverse the trend.

The coalition, joined by about 25 black farmers from across the South, urged passage of legislation sponsored by Sen. Wyche Fowler Jr., D-Ga., and Rep. Mike Espy, D-Miss., to help minority farmers stay in business and provide opportunities for minority youth to enter farming.

Fowler said the situation has worsened since 1982, when the Civil Rights Commission reported that the number of black-owned farms in the United States had declined by 94 percent since 1920.

- Associated Press 


 by CNB