[Agriculture Fact Book 98]
6. Rural
Development
Rural Development: Creating Opportunity for Rural Americans
USDA Rural Development is forging new partnerships with rural America by
funding development projects and providing technical assistance and information
to create quality jobs, services, housing, and utilities. Revitalizing rural
America It is essential if it is to maintain or regain its posture as a place
where millions of rural people can achieve the American dream. This need is
evident from the following:
- More than 52 million people live in rural areas of the United States, 15.9
percent of whom live in households with income below the Federal poverty level.
- 55 percent of the nonmetropolitan population lives in counties with no town
of even 10,000 residents; half of those people reside in remote areas that lack
direct access to metropolitan areas.
- During the last 20 years, the number of family and hired workers employed
on farms has decreased by 35 percent, although farm employment appears to have
stabilized in recent years as advances in mechanization and labor-saving
technology have leveled off and the decline in farm numbers has slowed. Today,
only 24 percent of all rural employment is in farm and farm-related industries.
The relocation of new businesses or industries to rural areas can help sustain
the economic viability of rural areas as they adjust to changes in agricultural
employment. Between 1990 and 1997, more than 75 percent of the approximately
2,300 nonmetro counties experienced some employment growth.
- Census figures from 1960-90 reveal that 535 rural counties endure
persistent poverty, with more than 20 percent of their residents living below
the poverty level.
USDA Rural Development is comprised of three agencies. The Rural Utilities
Service (RUS) addresses rural America’s need for basic services such as
clean running water, sewers and waste disposal, electricity, and
telecommunications. The Rural Housing Service (RHS) addresses rural
America’s need for single-family and multi-family housing as well as
health facilities, fire and police stations, and other community facilities.
The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS) provides help to rural areas that
need to develop new economic opportunities, allowing businesses and
cooperatives to remain viable in a changing economy.
In addition, the Federal Government is seeking to form partnerships with
other entities-- such as State, local, and tribal governments, private and
nonprofit organizations, and member- owned cooperatives--to revitalize rural
areas. Rural Development programs are provided across the Nation through 47
State offices and 800 area and local offices.
How Rural Development Works
The following examples illustrate how USDA Rural Development is working to
serve rural citizens and bolster the quality of life in rural communities:
- In Oklahoma, a long-term rehabilitation facility was financed with the
help of an $11 million guaranteed Rural Development loan. This 64-bed facility
will provide full service to trauma patients in a 20-county area of Oklahoma,
Texas, and Arkansas. The project will create a variety of professional and
semiprofessional job opportunities, increase business and revenues to small
businesses and service establishments, and provide an economic boost to the
surrounding communities.
- Residents of a rural Missouri town are looking forward to getting
something never before available in their community: a sewer system. Funded by
USDA Rural Development, the sewer system will provide service to 103 customers
when completed. The project includes construction of a complete sanitary sewer
collection and pumping system.
- A rural North Dakota electric cooperative received a Rural Development
grant to establish a revolving loan fund. The first loan was made to a hospital
authority to aid in constructing and equipping a new outpatient clinic and
service center to update the existing hospital facility. The project benefits
residents of the town and surrounding counties who will receive health care
from the new hospital and clinic.
- Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman and a group of USDA employees helped
raise walls at a Maryland rural housing development which will soon be home for
22 families or individuals, most of whom thought they would never share in the
American dream of homeownership. The single- family homes are being built under
Rural Development’s Self-Help Housing program, in which groups of
low-income rural people become homeowners through the investment of “sweat
equity.”
- A consortium of eight rural schools in California will use Rural
Development funds to purchase equipment needed to create a distance-learning
video conferencing system. The eight schools will be connected with one another
and many higher educational institutions. Through this network, the schools
will be able to share resources, reduce expenses, provide advanced classes for
seniors, increase all class offerings for K-12, and improve the reading and
language skills of younger students. The teachers will be able to communicate
with others in their field of study, thus eliminating teacher isolation. Also,
by connecting with area colleges, adults will gain continuing- education
opportunities. It is anticipated that 3,296 students, not counting the adults,
will benefit from this project.
- The Kentucky Department of Agriculture is concerned about the impact of
changes in the Federal tobacco program on small farmers in the State. It
obtained a Rural Development grant that provides assistance to groups that
present a viable business plan to market alternative crops. USDA cooperative
experts are also working with three vegetable marketing cooperatives in the
State to develop business plans for operations in 1998, and will continue to
provide training to management and directors in the future.
- A businessman was leasing a building to run a tire center in the
Scott/McCreary Enterprise Community in Tennessee. His business was doing well
until the construction of a new highway, which cut his parking lot in half. He
started losing customers, was to the point of having to take out a second
mortgage on his home, and even had to lay off some of his employees. He applied
for an Intermediary Relending Program (IRP) loan and was able to relocate and
double his work force, and his parking area.
The following overviews describe the three Rural Development Agencies and
their main programs.
Return to:
1998 Factbook Table of Contents