Ten Water User Associations set up within the Compact Program received agricultural equipment to the value of US$800,000, including tractors, mobile pumps and irrigation equipment, on September 25. The money was provided by the U.S. Government, IPN reports.

Millennium Challenge Fund Moldova executive director Valentina Badrajan said this equipment will facilitate the efficient management of the irrigation systems that were renovated within the Compact with about US$80 million offered by the U.S. Government. The equipment was purchased with the savings obtained as a result of the efficient implementation of the program.

Millennium Challenge Corporation Deputy Chief Executive Officer Nancy Lee said that even if the program ended at the start of this month, the Millennium Challenge Fund Moldova will continue to offer support to the Water User Associations, including by providing training during another two years.

Attending the event, Prime Minister Valeriu Strelet said the Compact provided real support to Moldova in its efforts to become a modern state with development chances for each citizen. This donation is welcome now that the farmers face a period of drought.

U.S. Ambassador James Pettit stated that the completed program achieved impressive results and represents a real inheritance for the partners from Moldova. “We hope the equipment donated today will bring additional benefits to the already successful activity of the Water User Associations,” he said.

The Millennium Challenge Fund Moldova and the Millennium Challenge Corporation had implemented the U.S. Government’s Compact since September 2010. The program’s total budget was US$262 million, which was provided as a grant to Moldova. The Compact supported the renovation of roads and the transition to high-value agriculture.