Florida Democratic political leaders held a virtual discussion on improvements they expect presidential candidate Joe Biden to work on for rural Florida if he were to win the presidency in November.
“We have hope, because we know Joe, and Joe has a plan to beat COVID-19 and rebuild rural America back, and better,” said Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried.
Due to struggles from the pandemic, Fried said the state’s agriculture has endured a $522 million loss.
Issues brought up for rural Florida included technology and broadband access, mental health outreach, farming conservation, and international trade policies that have made business tougher for some small farmers.
State Senate Minority Leader Audrey Gibson (D-Jacksonville) also joined the meeting and spoke on the hardships rural communities face when trying to access online resources during the pandemic.
“Many of our urban areas and our rural areas are technology deficient, lack access to the internet,…
— to news.wjct.org
