US President Donald Trump has proposed a draft budget for 2020. The cost of the US Department of Agriculture proposed to reduce by 15%. This is unlikely to please American farmers, who are going through hard times - food prices are falling due to the high level of production. In addition, issues with China have not yet been resolved. For this reason, the supply of many types of food has been suspended, and in fact 20% of the food produced in the USA is exported.
The USDA budget is impressive. When it was discussed at the end of last year, the following figures appeared: spending for 2019 - 2023 will amount to $ 428 billion, and for the period from 2019 to 2028 - $ 867 billion.At the same time, about 76% of the funds are to be allocated for food assistance programs for the poor.
A lot is allocated by the state to farmers and for current activities - these are subsidies, various assistance programs and other initiatives.
What the president is proposing will be discussed for a long time, and specific figures may change. However, the trend is clear. The US Specialized Agricultural Press notes that the government intends to reduce the cost of crop insurance subsidies. It is proposed to tighten the allocation of funds in other programs. Officially, this is called the need to "increase the responsibility of farmers receiving assistance from the state." The so-called farmers airbag will suffer unambiguously. It is proposed, for example, to reduce the average level of subsidies to cover crop insurance expenses (insurance premium) from 62 to 48% and limit the number of recipients, excluding from it those with a total income of more than 500 thousand dollars. Naturally, the objection was expressed not only by farmers, but also by insurers.
The need was expressed to limit state payments to farmers under various programs in the event of a decline in income. This happens, for example, when the crop is received, and prices fell. In this case, farmers can receive benefits from the state based on the average income for a certain period. So, it is proposed to exclude peanut producers from this practice and limit the possibility of payments to only one "manager" of the farm (farm). (Currently, the farmer’s spouse has the same right).
It is also proposed to tighten the practice of presenting food aid to the poor. In the United States, 40 million people are recipients of such assistance. Instead, it speaks of the need to help physically capable recipients "turn to the labor market."
Much more will be discussed, and the numbers will be adjusted. However, disputes will be, given the alignment of political forces.
Source: http://kvedomosti.ru