The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), in partnership with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), will launch the Agricultural Competitiveness and Enterprise Development Project (ACED) on June 10, at a conference gathering more than 80 stakeholders from the agricultural sector of Moldova.
The new ACED project is a five-year program, jointly financed by USAID and MCC, that aims to increase the success of the Moldovan agriculture sector in the production and marketing of high value crops, both in the domestic market and internationally. ACED will provide technical assistance and training to high value agriculture producers and related businesses in priority value chains throughout the country, with a special focus on areas in which Central Irrigation Systems are being rehabilitated through the new Compact between MCC and the Government of Moldova.
ACED will develop and expand market opportunities for Moldovan farmers, improve production techniques to meet market requirements, strengthen post-harvest elements of the value chain, and improve the regulatory environment and phytosanitary infrastructure for the high value agriculture sector in Moldova. In implementing ACED, USAID is partnering closely with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry, the Millennium Challenge Account, and international donor organizations.
U.S. Ambassador Asif J. Chaudhry will open the event. Ambassador Chaudhry will speak of U.S. Government's commitment to helping Moldovan farmers' transition to high value agriculture and spur economic growth in rural Moldova.
