Black Farmers' Perspectives on Social Equity Within the United States Hemp Industry
Abstract
Despite hemp’s recently acquired legal status, there have been numerous social equity concerns related to the implementation of hemp policies. Small farmers and farmers from underrepresented backgrounds have experienced difficulties in gaining access to the hemp industry, which has been projected to become a billion-dollar industry in the next decade. The objective of this study was to capture the perspectives of Black farmers on the barriers that exist within the hemp industry in the United States. Twenty current and former Black hemp farmers from Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, and Missouri participated in semi-structured interviews, which produced the following emerging themes: a lack of education provided to Black hemp farmers; a lack of financial resources; and policy implementation irregularities. The process of Qualitative Content Analysis with Methodological Triangulation was utilized to correlate the emerging themes with the review of literature and archival statistical data from the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and scientific studies, to further substantiate the claims that inequities are prevalent within the hemp industry for Black farmers. Recommendations were made that addressed the concerns of study participants in the areas of education, financial resources, and policy implementation irregularities, which would improve social equity outcomes among small farmers and underrepresented farmers in the U.S. Hemp Industry.
Subject Area
Public policy|Agriculture|Public administration
Recommended Citation
Kori T Floyd,
"Black Farmers' Perspectives on Social Equity Within the United States Hemp Industry"
(2024).
ETD Collection for Tennessee State University.
Paper AAI31140901.
https://digitalscholarship.tnstate.edu/dissertations/AAI31140901