[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 206 (Thursday, October 24, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 84935-84936]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-24712]


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MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION

[MCC FR 24-11]


Notice of Entering Into a Compact With the Republic of Zambia

AGENCY: Millennium Challenge Corporation.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the provisions of the Millennium Challenge 
Act of 2003, as amended, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is 
publishing a summary of the Millennium Challenge Compact (Compact) 
between the United States of America and the Republic of Zambia. 
Representatives of the United States of America and the Republic of 
Zambia executed the Compact on October 17, 2024. The complete text of 
the Compact has been posted at: https://www.mcc.gov/resources/doc/agreement-zambia-farm-to-market-compact/.

(Authority: 22 U.S.C. 7709(b)(3))

    Dated: October 21, 2024.
Peter E. Jaffe,
Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary.

Summary of Zambia Compact

Overview of the MCC Zambia Farm to Market Compact

    The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), on behalf of the United 
States of America, has signed a five-year Compact with the Republic of 
Zambia (Zambia) aimed at reducing poverty through economic growth. MCC 
funding of $458,000,000, together with a contribution of $33,750,000 
from the Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ), will support 
economic growth in Zambia through investments in the agriculture and 
agro-processing sectors. MCC's investment aims to address the binding 
constraints to economic growth of (1) poor roads and transport that 
reduce market access, (2) inadequate private investment in capital 
inputs needed to boost agricultural production, and (3) an uncertain 
policy environment for inputs, outputs, and exports. The Compact will 
address these constraints through four projects: (1) the Roads and 
Access Project; (2) the Asset Finance Project; (3) the Agriculture 
Policy Reform and Institutional Strengthening Project; and (4) the 
American Catalyst Facility for Development (``ACFD'') Project.

Background and Context

    The Republic of Zambia, a landlocked country of twenty million 
people and 72 ethnic groups, stretches across southern Africa's central 
plateau, occupying an area slightly larger than the state of Texas. 
Categorized as a low-income country with gross domestic product (GDP) 
per capita at around US $1,300, Zambia's annual economic growth 
averaged 3.7 percent over the period 2011 to 2021. This growth has been 
inconsistent, however, primarily due to Zambia's dependence on 
exporting copper, a commodity known for its international price 
volatility. Other vulnerabilities hampering Zambia's growth include 
reoccurring drought shocks that harm its agriculture and energy 
sectors. Further, Zambia's extensive public borrowing in the recent 
past pushed its debt-to-GDP levels above one hundred and twenty (120) 
percent, overwhelming the country's ability to deliver public services 
and finance future investments. Meanwhile, the bulk of the country's 
labor force remains engaged in low-productivity agriculture and 
informal services, resulting in over half of the population living 
below the poverty line and income inequality levels among the world's 
worst. According to the World Bank, agriculture contributes to 
approximately three (3) percent of Zambia's GDP yet employs over half 
of its labor force.
    Following the election of President Hakainde Hichilema in August 
2021, the GRZ prioritized private sector-led growth, more market-
friendly policies, and a decentralization of authority and budgets to 
local authorities. In a complementary vein, the GRZ also signaled, in 
its national development plan, a renewed emphasis on economic 
diversification led by investments in the country's underperforming 
agriculture and agro-processing sectors. Zambia's agricultural sector 
suffers from low productivity, with average maize yields hovering 
around two metric tons/hectare, well below the eight tons/hectare 
achieved by the country's leading commercial producers. Much of 
Zambia's low input use is a result of the lack of irrigation, outdated 
agricultural practices, and a highly inadequate rural road network. 
This also constrains the expansion of labor-intensive agro-processors, 
who often source inputs from local farms. Both agriculture and agro-
processing are significantly constrained by a lack of access to credit 
to finance investment in small-scale irrigation and other inputs.
    Given this sector context, the Compact program aims to address key 
constraints along the country's agriculture and agro-processing growth 
path through a combination of investments in rural road infrastructure, 
programs to increase access to credit, and agricultural policy reform 
initiatives. Investments in these areas will help the GRZ to 
substantially diversify and grow its economy while reducing poverty.

Project Summaries

    The compact program consists of four projects:
    (1) The Roads and Access Project ($315,000,000) is designed to 
decrease transportation costs in prioritized agriculture corridors by 
improving approximately 338 kilometers (210 miles) of road and 
transportation infrastructure, increasing rural population access to 
markets and services, and strengthening Zambian road asset management. 
The project includes upgrading road segments based on updated weather 
projections, reducing the number of days a road would be impassible due 
to flooding or the risk of washouts. The construction of trail bridges, 
pedestrian amenities, and other physical infrastructure paired with the 
application of an established

[[Page 84936]]

social behavior change system (Gender Action Learning System) will 
reduce barriers to markets for rural communities, especially women and 
youth. In addition, this project will include technical assistance and 
capacity building to ensure the sustainability of these investments 
through better road asset management.
    (2) The Asset Finance Project ($45,000,000) aims to increase access 
to finance for investments in electricity, irrigation, logistics and 
processing (EILP) equipment and infrastructure for both men and women-
owned agricultural small and medium enterprises and project developers 
across agriculture value chains. These investments will contribute to 
Zambia's national development plan by increasing the adoption of 
irrigation, agro-processing and value addition, grain and produce 
storage facilities, and investments in energy sources. The project 
addresses the affordability of financing for EILP equipment through 
performance-based grants to financial service providers and equipment 
providers to incentivize increased lending and financing to the 
agriculture sector for EILP equipment and catalyzing impact investment 
for agri-enterprises. The project will also include capacity building 
and technical assistance to public and private project developers to 
increase the number of EILP infrastructure investments in the 
agriculture value chain that reach financial close.
    (3) The Agriculture Policy Reform and Institutional Strengthening 
Project ($25,000,000) is designed to improve institutional capacity to 
facilitate private sector production and trade in grains. The Compact, 
and its associated reforms, will contribute to creating a private 
sector-driven agriculture and agro-processing market and support 
broader efforts by the GRZ and other donors to address key policy 
challenges constraining private sector production and trade in grain 
markets. To this end, the project will strengthen the Ministry of 
Agriculture's capacity to develop and implement reforms as well as 
improve the Food Reserve Agency's capacity to carry out its core 
functions efficiently, including managing the strategic grain reserves, 
encouraging private sector involvement in grain trading, making timely 
payments for purchases, and providing appropriate price stabilization. 
It will also build the Food Reserve Agency's capacity for assessing, 
monitoring, and analyzing the impact of its policies and practices on 
food security, poverty, and vulnerability, and strengthen its 
vulnerability response and mitigation functions. Finally, this project 
aims to build transparency and trust among market players by 
establishing an independent market observatory that collects timely and 
accurate data on stocks and prices and conducts relevant market 
analyses for the benefit of public sector policy makers and private 
sector economic actors, and by supporting a commodity exchange.
    (4) The American Catalyst Facility for Development (ACFD) Project 
($8,000,000) is designed to facilitate the U.S. Development Finance 
Corporation's (USDFC) investments in Zambia in the sectors identified 
as constraints to Zambia's growth by MCC. DFC's current transaction 
pipeline in Zambia, for example, includes several projects that are not 
viable without additional de-risking. ACFD grant funding will enable 
DFC-led projects like these, that would not otherwise be viable, to 
reach financial close.

Program Budget

    The table below presents the overall budget for the program of 
$491,750,000, which includes MCC funding under the Compact of up to 
$458,000,000 and a GRZ contribution of at least $33,750,000 (required 
minimum of 7.5 percent, excluding ACFD).

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                    Project/activity                          Amount
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Roads and Access Project.............................    $315,000,000
    1.1 Improving Roads Activity........................     285,000,000
    1.2 Improving Access Activity.......................      12,000,000
    1.3 Strengthening Zambian Road Management Activity..      18,000,000
2. Asset Finance Project................................      45,000,000
    2.1 Agri-SME Asset Financing Activity...............      23,000,000
    2.2 ZAMPPF Activity.................................      22,000,000
3. Agriculture Policy and Institutional Strengthening         25,000,000
 Project................................................
    3.1 MoA Institutional Strengthening Activity........      13,300,000
    3.2 FRA Institutional Capacity Strengthening               7,950,000
     Activity...........................................
    3.3 Establishment and Strengthening of Ancillary           3,750,000
     Agricultural Market Support Institutions Activity..
4. American Catalyst Facility for Development (ACFD)....       8,000,000
5. Monitoring and Evaluation............................       3,000,000
6. Program Administration and Control...................      62,000,000
                                                         ---------------
    Total MCC Funding...................................     458,000,000
    Government of the Republic of Zambia Contribution...      33,750,000
                                                         ---------------
        Total Funding...................................     491,750,000
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[FR Doc. 2024-24712 Filed 10-23-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9211-03-P