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Farming and your Freedom - Katrina continues to occupy ag sector
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By: Pete Graham
| 09/21/2005 |
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For residents of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast area, the focus is on survival and, ultimately, some semblance of normalcy and renewal. For the USDA and its multiple agencies and the private ag sector, the focus is on Gulf markets, storage, and distribution, as well as on the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Ag Secretary Mike Johanns announced Sept. 6 that the USDA, through its Rural Development Program, is working with the private sector to set up a list of housing units available for persons and families displaced by Katrina. On that date, the list already contained 30,000 identified housing units.
Johanns announced expansions of other government programs that could help, too, primarily those that provide food, such as the Food Stamp Program. To make aid available immediately, the secretary authorized states to "pre-load" electronic Food Stamp benefit cards with $50 in assistance.
Johanns said that would allow evacuees to immediately purchase food-before having their applications for food stamps processed. Surely, that is a bureaucratic miracle, and the kind of response the feds should have been giving all along.
It is interesting that the USDA and its agencies seem more capable of responding to emergencies than are the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the penultimate protective agency, the Home Land Security Department. Maybe it's the fact that most USDA programs are decidedly "human" in nature and response, and much less security-dominated. There is less force and more thought.
When you are faced with a deluge of dirty water and a ton of mud in your house, the human approach is more desirable than the security approach. And, that's not to say security isn't important. Lawlessness has been a key problem with the entire rescue operation this far.
Further USDA assistance will come in the form of $50 million in food aid to survivors, with the agency ensuring that school districts are able to provide free lunches to students who have been relocated because of Katrina.
In terms of housing, as noted, the USDA Rural Development staff plans to coordinate with the private sector to house those who have lost their homes, utilizing the list of available units across the nation-ready to take refugees. The agency will coordinate with FEMA and faith-based (we used to call them church groups) organizations to put each homeless person in a home or apartment, as needed. Again, in a minor miracle of bureaucracy, requirements of the Rural Housing program have been waived to expedite relocation efforts.
The USDA is helping in other ways, too. The Forest Service has sent 2,760 employees trained in rescue and response to large-scale incidents to assist FEMA. The teams are experts in the logistics and handling of food distribution and debris removal, certainly a compelling need right now.
In addition, the USDA is helping by: providing direct food assistance, assistance in locating permanent housing, providing a general debt service moratorium of 90 days on all USDA-sponsored mortgage programs for counties affected by Katrina, a 90-day moratorium on collection of electric, water and community facilities programs in affected states, and the agency has established a team to conduct assessments of hospitals and nursing home facilities to facilitate grant and loan applications in the region.
Clearly, response to Katrina should have been much more immediate on the part of local and state, but also by federal authorities. Perhaps, lawlessness on such a scale could have been avoided, the misery somewhat mitigated, and more lives saved. It is also clear, though, that the USDA, at least, is serious about helping and Johanns has paved the way for some good to come out of such a terrible disaster.
It's nice to know that a gigantic government agency keyed to the service of production agriculture can also quickly tool up to perform major humanitarian feats of an immediate and far-reaching nature.
I'll see ya!
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©MISSOURI VALLEY TIMES - NEWS 2010
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