Opportunities for Rural Development

For those of us residing in rural areas, the Rural development programs available through USDA can have a positive impact in our small towns and rural communities.
Doug O'Brien is the Acting Undersecretary for Rural Development and he shares more about available programs to benefit rural communities across the country. The first he explains is the Rural Micro-entrepreneur Assistance Program available to help for small businesses with 10 or fewer employees.
O’Brien: “What these grants do, they go to intermediaries or non-profits who help individuals who want to start a small business. What we do with our MAP program provide intermediaries resources so that they can provided these technological assistances as well as provide small loans, relatively small loans to these folks. So that is our MAP.”
O’Brien gives information on the second program available to intermediaries non-profits.
O’Brien: “RCDI or Rural Community Development Initiatives does provides again intermediaries non-profits or grants that will provide financial and technical assistance to recipients to develop capacity to undertake housing, community facilities or economic development projects. So basically again we are working with non-profit and what this non-profit does is work with individuals and and other entities in that community so that they have the capacity to be successful.”
He adds that the third program offered by Rural Development is Farm Labor Housing.