In a move to see the construction of more modern and pleasant housing developments for farm laborers, the United States Department of Agriculture has announced a grant program providing funding for those efforts.
The program, according to USDA officials, is designed to encourage sustainable projects that will be built by such entities as farmworkers associations, state and local governments, and what are officially called Federally Recognized Tribal Lands.
Those entities, said Joel Baxley, assistant secretary of rural development for the USDA in announcing the grant program, will be encouraged to apply for funding from Washington to build the new housing.
That funding will specifically be coming through the USDA’s Farm Labor Housing grants and loans programs, with the maximum award per project topping out at $3 million.
The USDA is additionally encouraging applicants for grants to propose projects in rural Opportunity Zones. Those zones are defined as economically distressed areas that may ALSO qualify for any number of tax credits and incentives.
The funding will target communities with populations of no more than 20,000 people.
The agency’s rural development department is tasked with providing support for housing, health care, and utility infrastructure in rural areas of the country. The department possesses a loan portfolio worth more than $224 billion to fund such efforts.
By Garry Boulard
