U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) indicated that catfish and shrimp producers in Mississippi should benefit from a new U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) agreement to purchase up to $30 million in farm-raised catfish products and $25 million in Gulf shrimp for distribution to various nutrition assistance programs, including charitable institutions.
The USDA informed Hyde-Smith of the decision by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to approve the farm-raised catfish and shrimp purchases under the permanently-authorized “Section 32” program, which allows the agency to make emergency purchases of surplus U.S. commodities for distribution to domestic food assistance programs.
“Like commodity producers across the country, our catfish producers and shrimpers in Mississippi have hit hard times because of high input costs, inflation, and unfair global competition. This new round of Section 32 purchases should work to help sustain their operations while also supplying more protein for nutrition assistance programs,” said Hyde-Smith.
Hyde-Smith is a strong supporter of Section 32 purchases of farm-raised catfish, shrimp, and other products to support U.S. agricultural producers and to provide additional resources for distribution to food banks and other nonprofit nutrition programs.