Today the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) approved a five-year, $540 million compact with Senegal—the 11th compact to be signed with a sub-Saharan African country. Senegal was declared eligible for an MCC compact in May 2004, and has spent the time since developing their proposal. The compact aims to reduce poverty and spur economic growth by investing in projects in the transportation, irrigation, and agriculture sectors.

In the MCC’s press statement released today, acting MCC CEO Darius Mans said, “On behalf of MCC, I want to congratulate the people and Government of Senegal for developing an innovative compact that will make a tremendous difference in reducing poverty through economic growth by bolstering food security and transportation connectivity. The Senegalese have laid out a clear vision of improving the quality of their lives through a results-oriented plan. MCC welcomes the opportunity to work together to achieve these compact goals.”

The compact intends to invest in rehabilitating crucial roads in northern and southern Senegal, which, the MCC believes, will enable agricultural communities to get their goods to local and international markets and could mean improved access to services like schools and hospitals for rural communities. Senegal’s compact will also fund a water and irrigation management project that will develop up to 10,500 hectares of land in the Senegal River Valley. Senegal and the MCC hope that the new irrigation scheme will also help prevent the abandonment of 26,000 hectares of land by revamping drainage canals and ensuring secure land-tenure for farmers. The irrigation project is intended to increase crop yields, an essential step towards food security for Senegal, which, as the MCC notes, currently imports 70% of rice consumed in the country.

The compact is expected to be signed on September 16th; be sure to check back here as we will post additional details on the blog.

-Beth Adler