Black farmers hope to clinch $20m deal.

The National Black Farmers Association is working on a deal to sell Cuba $20 million in food ranging from chicken to wheat this spring, reports the Associated Press.

John Boyd, head of the group, said more than 10,000 black farmers would benefit from the agreement with President Fidel Castro.

"This could be really good for the black farmers because it's a steady flowing business where we, the NBFA, would be able to get a contract directly with the farmers themselves and get them a fair price for their crops," Boyd was quoted by AP as saying.

The black leader met with Castro in November to begin arrangements to sell corn, soybeans, rice, wheat and chicken. Officials with the U.S. Department of Agriculture said they weren't involved in the sale.

The arrangement with black farmers would mark the first time Cuba forges a sale with a particular ethnic group, said John Kavulich, president of the New York-based U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council.

"Clearly there is a political component to the decision by the Cuban government with respect to the NBFA," Kavulich told AP, referring to a recent class-action lawsuit against the USDA alleging systematic discrimination in loan applications. Since 1997, the USDA has paid out over $634 million in settlements.