By Mike Benjamin
Oswego, NY – Jobs and economic development in rural areas of N.Y. are expected to be the focus of a forum in Syracuse held February 5th 2010. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is holding the event.
Tim Jones, special projects coordinator for the USDA, said the USDA is looking for projects in the state that need funding. The agency has $80 million in loan authority to spend by the end of this fiscal year.
"We want to identify things which are working," said Jones. "If they are working, is there anything USDA can do to help those things work even better? Is there a policy, which we should adapt? For example when we talk about things like renewable energy, are current programs sufficient? Or are there policy changes we could take?"
The discussion called, "Rural New York Economic Development Forum" was created as part of President Obama's job initiative. The discussion will cover topics such as agriculture, business and lending environments in the state, renewable energy and green jobs.
The findings from the forum will be presented to the Secretary of Agriculture.