Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack reports that during fiscal year 2011, Rural Development investments created or saved about 440-thousand jobs. These facts come from the Secretary’s report on USDA Rural Development fiscal year 2011 investments in job-creating businesses, infrastructure and housing for Americans living in rural communities across the nation.

In the federal fiscal year that ended on September 30, Vilsack said Rural Development, through its Business, Cooperative, Utilities and Housing programs provided housing opportunities for over 143-thousand families, upgraded community facilities, boosted the reliability of the electric grid, funded renewable energy projects, and supported efforts to provide affordable, reliable Internet service to rural homes.

The largest portion of FY 2011 funding, 63 percent, supported fee-generating loan guarantees that enabled private lenders to safely increase the pool of capital available in rural areas for credit-worthy businesses, communities and homebuyers, without direct cost to the Government. About 34 percent of Rural Development investments were made in the form of secure, affordable direct loans that will be paid back to the government, with interest.

Secretary Vilsack noted that the agency’s cost of doing business is less than two cents for every dollar invested in the future of rural communities.

Courtesy: NAFB News