Former Ambassador Pamela Hyde Smith Speeches

Ambassador Pamela Hyde Smith's speech at Vulcanesti Farm Store Opening

 November 26, 2002

I'm pleased to be in Vulcanesti today and to have the chance to see another example of U.S. Government assitance being put to work for the Moldovan people through support for private business. The U.S. Government, through USAID, continues to implement a number of development programs throughout Moldova, one of the most important areas of activity being post-privatization assistance in agriculture. In this effort, two American organizations, CNFA and East-West Management Institute, are implementing 3-year nationswide programs designed to support farmers worth $25 million.

Having helped over one million Moldovans become landowners, The U.S. government is proud to continue aiding these budding farmers and rural enterpreneurs by supporting the next step in their development. This means providing new landowners with the physical, financial and intellectual tools they need to farm their land, create viable business organizations and improve family incomes.

In this case, CNFA, using USAID funding, is partnering with local enterpreneurs, joint stock companies and cooperatives throughout the country to develop farm stores, which represent a new rural service infrastructure and serve the major needs of Moldova's private farmers:

• Access to agricultural inputs
• Machinery services
• Affordable credit terms
• Training and information
• And a market for their agricultural outputs

This is the 50th such store to be opened in Moldova and a total of 85 farm stores will soon be operational. It seems that a new store opens up somewhere in Moldova almost every week and , while I am proud to know that U.S. assistance is reaching so many communities, I am equally proud to know that each of these stores represents a successeful local business that has made a matching investment in the project.

Together, these stores have sold $3 million in goods and services to over 250,000 clients and the past two years. 40,000 farmers have received training and consultation and agronomy, business administration and legal issues and local partners have invested $3.3 million of their own funds in their local economies. The result has been an improvement in the quality and productivity of moldovan agriculture and the creation of a solid foundation for the successful development of private farming throughout the country.