U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Under Secretary Xochitl Torres Small today unveiled the Rural Data Gateway, a new resource to make the Department’s data for rural projects easier to access for its partners and for people living in rural communities.

The Rural Data Gateway will help USDA better target resources to the people who need them most in rural places. It also will help the Department be a stronger partner to rural people, entrepreneurs, government officials and other stakeholders.

“The Biden-Harris Administration knows that transparency is important for a free government,” Torres Small said. “It also drives innovation, accountability and more equitable outcomes for rural people everywhere. The Rural Data Gateway will highlight places where USDA has expanded access to capital for people in rural communities who need it most. It will demonstrate how Rural Development (RD) funds are being used across rural America. It will help business owners, farmers and ranchers better understand where RD resources have helped to modernize infrastructure and create economic prosperity. It will help rural people see where investments are being made to expand or improve access to health care, high-speed internet, and safe drinking water in their communities, and much more.”

The Gateway also showcases USDA Rural Development’s investments that have helped rural people lower their energy costs; and buy, repair, build and rent affordable places to call home.

The Rural Data Gateway includes investment dashboards that show how Rural Development has supported local and regional economies in the last 11 years through 69 programs. The dashboards are easy-to-use tools that highlight critical Rural Development investments for people in rural America, including projects that have helped people in socially vulnerable communities access the resources they need. The data will help users analyze trends across different states, counties and congressional districts.

The Rural Data Gateway supports USDA’s mission to expand public access to Federal government data as required by the Open, Public, Electronic, and Necessary Government Data Act of 2018.

For more information, visit Rural Data Gateway | Rural Development (usda.gov).

Under the Biden-Harris Administration, Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities, create jobs and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural, Tribal and high-poverty areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov.

USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, promoting competition and fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate-smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.

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