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Press Release

MCC Board Discusses Lessons Learned from Completion of First Compacts

For Immediate Release

March 23, 2011

Washington, DC— The U.S. Government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Board of Directors, chaired by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, today held its quarterly meeting.  The Board discussed lessons learned from the completion of MCC’s first compacts and MCC’s commitment to accountability and continued analysis of results of its programs with partner countries.

"These are exciting times for MCC.  Last year, we successfully concluded our first two compacts with Honduras and Cape Verde, and we are on track to see five more countries conclude their compacts this year,” Mr. Yohannes said.  "Our goals are to get the best investment return for the American taxpayer and to put our partner countries on a path to attract more private sector investment and reduce aid dependency by increasing their incomes.  As our compacts close, we are beginning to see strong results of our work with partner countries.”

In Honduras, preliminary data shows that farmers who received assistance from MCC investments saw their annual net income rise 88 percent, from $1,800 per hectare of land cultivated using new practices to $3,550 per hectare.  Though MCC can point to real change in these countries now, MCC’s stringent standards for measuring and reporting results will require independent evaluations to verify the immediate and long-term impact of our partnerships.

Since its creation in 2004, MCC investments have allowed country partners to train over 150,000 farmers in more efficient agriculture techniques to help increase incomes by producing higher-quality crops, provided $66 million in agricultural loans, and have assisted over 3,800 private enterprises involved in ag¬riculture related business.  In addition, MCC investments have constructed hundreds of kilometers of roads to link markets and encourage trade.  MCC also has worked with countries to construct, rehabilitate, or equip more than 200 educational facilities, educating nearly 60,000 students and training over 800 instructors.

In the coming weeks, MCC will close compacts with Georgia and Vanuatu, where MCC investments have supported road construction and rehabilitation and, in Georgia, agricultural improvements.  These investments will spur economic growth, investment and trade.  MCC will evaluate and share results and long-term impact of MCC investments in Georgia and Vanuatu, as well as its other partner countries.

Tomorrow, a post-Board public outreach event will be held at MCC to provide additional details from the Board meeting.

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