Why did the Roosevelt Administration encourage food destruction in the midst of the malnutrition of millions of Americans?

The Great Depression dealt a terrible blow to the living standards of millions of people in the formerly prosperous Western countries. Prices for agricultural products fell so much that farmers, having sold their crops, could not pay off their debts and buy the most needed industrial goods. The products were sold with difficulty – the townspeople had very little money. To slow the fall in prices, farmers burned their excess food while millions of people in cities were starving.