Joseph Diego
Director
Western Pacific Area
U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development
As the lead federal agency for investment in rural areas, USDA Rural Development is committed to helping improve the quality of life in rural America, because we know that when rural American thrives, all of America thrives.
Through our many programs, we help rural Americans in many ways. We offer loans, grants and loan guarantees to help create jobs and support economic development and essential services such as housing, healthcare, first responder services and equipment and water, electric and communications infrastructure.
We promote economic development by supporting loans to businesses through banks, credit unions and community-managed lending pools. We offer technical assistance and information to help agricultural producers and cooperatives get started and improve the effectiveness of their operations.
We provide technical assistance to help communities undertake community empowerment programs.
We help rural residents by or rent safe, affordable housing and make health and safety repairs to their homes.
Basically, RD has the tools and resources to build communities from the ground up. At RD we want to continue to be a partner for progress in rural communities. We continue to advocate for collaboration and partnerships as a vehicle for rural communities to prosper and thrive. More importantly we are an advocate in assisting rural communities compete in the global economy.
I have oversight responsibility for Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau and the Marshall Islands. My counterpart, Gary Bloom is the area director that oversees RD programs in the Federated States of Micronesia. Thao Khamoui is the area director for the Hawaiian Islands and American Samoa. All three area directors fall under the jurisdiction of the Hawaii State Office under presidential appointee Brenda Iokepa-Moses, the state director for Hawaii.
The RD programs are available not only for U.S. citizens, but also citizens of the Freely Associated States. Businesses that apply for RD’s business programs must be at least 51% controlled by U.S. or FAS citizens.
Over the past five years, RD has invested more than $91l5 million in housing, business development, community facilities and energy systems in the Western Pacific.
“We promote economic development by supporting
loans to businesses through banks, credit unions and
community-managed lending pools.”
