US farmers lose global market share amid trade frictions

EYEAFRICA TV: Prince George’s County, Maryland, USA: The ongoing China-U.S. trade frictions have evoked the concerns of farmers who have borne the brunt of the tensions, with the dispute leading to a worrying rise in the U.S. farm bankruptcy rate.
Data from the American Farm Bureau Federation shows that the U.S. farm bankruptcy rate has been on the rise over the past 12 months, up 13 percent year on year, largely as a result of the tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
The National Farmers Union of the United States said that though climate change may influence agricultural production, President Donald Trump’s policy of levying tariffs on goods imported from China has dealt a heavy blow to American agriculture.
There are five greenhouses at the Eco-City Farms in Prince George’s County, Maryland, situated just a 20-minute drive outside Washington D.C.
Margaret Morgan-Hubbard started an urban farming training program here 10 years ago after leaving a plum job at the University of Maryland.
“The whole enterprise is an attempt to learn much more about how to produce food and help people know where their food comes from,” she said.
All the vegetables are hand-planted and hand-harvested, and even the soil has been meticulously cultivated to reach optimal organic richness.