Agriculture Secretary Sonny Purdue was in western Maine Wednesday and spent more than an hour listening to comments about the needs of rural areas.
Purdue, who was in Farmington with Republican U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin of Maine’s 2nd District, says most people don’t realize the scope of the programs offered by the Department of Agriculture. He says improving the prosperity of rural America is his goal, and that addressing the crisis in opioid use is part of that agenda.
“The fact is many of the problems are the same. We talked about the opioid crisis here in America and we know that it is in Maine extremely hard,” he says.
Purdue says his agency operates programs designed to advance telemedicine in rural areas through improved broadband and offers grants to help rural areas build facilities they need to improve their economy.
