We recently had the privilege of working with Harvard Law School students who were interested in food security and its connection to public banking. Support for local small farms is key to building a strong local food system, and keeping the entry and operational costs low for farmers helps ensure that the food they grow, raise or produce is affordable to everyone.
As part of their research on agriculture in Massachusetts the students created this infographic detailing how a public bank can help provide badly-needed longer-term financing for land acquisition or farm business expansion. Lending could be done in participation with Massachusetts-chartered banks, and loans could be made to land trusts or municipalities as well as to farmers, if, for instance, a city, town, or conservation group had an opportunity to purchase property for a community food forest or community garden.
The Bank of North Dakota was founded by farmers to ensure that they had access to credit, and while the bank’s mission has expanded, agricultural loans are still a vital part of their portfolio. Massachusetts has already invested resources in promoting local agriculture and developing programs to help protect farmland. Establishing a public bank is one more step Massachusetts should take to put public money to work to support our farmers.