FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 7, 2010
Contact: Will Jennings, 202-225-4076


Lincoln, Pryor, Berry, Ross Announce $105K for Rural Economic Development in Arkansas’s Delta Region

University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff’s Institute for Rural Economic Development to Receive Funding

Washington – U.S. Senators Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor and U.S. Representatives Marion Berry (AR-01) and Mike Ross (AR-04) today announced that the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) will receive a $105,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development grant to support its Institute for Rural Economic Development, which will educate farmers and small businesses in the Arkansas Delta Region about USDA Rural Development programs and help them develop and expand their operations.

UAPB’s Institute for Rural Economic Development will provide financial and technical assistance to rural entrepreneurs to help them start or expand their businesses, which will create jobs in the Arkansas Delta Region. UAPB will offer workshops that provide training for small businesses and farmers and other services in the following cities: Altheimer, Cotton Plant, Eudora, Dumas, Forrest City, Marianna, Monticello and Wilmar. The program targets rural areas in Arkansas with high rates of poverty and unemployment. Training will teach residents how to utilize USDA Rural Development initiatives that support entrepreneurship, such as Recovery Act programs that provide incentives to produce renewable energy.

In addition, funds will support research that will assess economic development plans for rural communities and determine the feasibility of various business proposals.

“This investment will help Arkansas’s rural entrepreneurs create jobs and grow our agricultural economy,” said Lincoln, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. “Agriculture accounts for more than 270,000 jobs in our state and contributes more than $9 billion each year to Arkansas’s economy, and I am committed to doing everything I can to help our farmers and agricultural businesses thrive. The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff does great work in our rural communities and I commend their efforts to boost agriculture and other rural industries in the Delta.”

“Rural farmers and small businesses are a vital part of our state’s economy, creating jobs and lifting up communities,” Pryor said. “This investment will allow UAPB to work with Delta farmers and businesses to ensure they have the resources and support necessary to grow and thrive.”

“One of Arkansas’ greatest strengths is its agriculture and the farmers and small businesses associated with it,” Berry said. “In order for us to remain strong economically, we need to support the agriculture business with better education and financial aid for entrepreneurs who want to play a role in growing the industry. This funding is a great example of how we understand that vision, and support innovation and entrepreneurship in Arkansas that will help create jobs and continue to grow our economy.”

“This funding will create and save jobs in Arkansas at a critical time,” Ross said. “I am proud to help announce this investment for UAPB because it will help farmers and small businesses in Arkansas get back on their feet and will help provide funding to our local communities for important projects.”

“The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff is elated to once again partner with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in this unique program that builds on an historic relationship between USDA and minority-serving institutions. As one of 17 1890-Land-Grant Institutions, UAPB sees its effort to improve rural communities as vital to fulfilling its Land-Grant Mission,” said UAPB Chancellor Lawrence A. Davis, Jr.
 
“UAPB will use program funds under the USDA-1890 Rural Entrepreneurial Initiative to stimulate job creation through entrepreneurship by providing aspiring and existing business owners with access to technical assistance, workshops and training as well as access to information and technology. The program, started as a pilot program under then President Bill Clinton with just seven institutions, has grown to include all 17 1890 Land-Grant Schools with current efforts among the participating universities aimed at strengthening the program both from a funding level as well as a programmatic level,” said Henry A. Golatt, Director of UAPB’s Economic Research and Development Center.

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