Notice of Entering Into a Compact With the Republic of Zambia, 84935-84936 [2024-24712]
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 206 / Thursday, October 24, 2024 / Notices
(e.g., permitting electronic submission
of responses).
Agency: DOL–ETA.
Type of Review: Extension without
changes.
Title of Collection: Occupational Code
Assignment.
Form: ETA–741.
OMB Control Number: 1205–0137.
Affected Public: State, Local and tribal
governments, Federal Government,
individual & households, and private
sector.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
50.
Frequency: On Occasion.
Total Estimated Annual Responses:
60.
Estimated Average Time per
Response: .6 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Burden
Hours: 36 hours.
Total Estimated Annual Other Cost
Burden: $0.
Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A).
José Javier Rodrı́guez,
Assistant Secretary for Employment and
Training, Labor.
[FR Doc. 2024–24587 Filed 10–23–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510–FW–P
MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE
CORPORATION
[MCC FR 24–11]
Notice of Entering Into a Compact With
the Republic of Zambia
Millennium Challenge
Corporation.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
Notice.
In accordance with the
provisions of the Millennium Challenge
Act of 2003, as amended, the
Millennium Challenge Corporation
(MCC) is publishing a summary of the
Millennium Challenge Compact
(Compact) between the United States of
America and the Republic of Zambia.
Representatives of the United States of
America and the Republic of Zambia
executed the Compact on October 17,
2024. The complete text of the Compact
has been posted at: https://
www.mcc.gov/resources/doc/agreementzambia-farm-to-market-compact/.
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
SUMMARY:
(Authority: 22 U.S.C. 7709(b)(3))
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:56 Oct 23, 2024
Jkt 265001
Dated: October 21, 2024.
Peter E. Jaffe,
Vice President, General Counsel, and
Corporate Secretary.
Summary of Zambia Compact
Overview of the MCC Zambia Farm to
Market Compact
The Millennium Challenge
Corporation (MCC), on behalf of the
United States of America, has signed a
five-year Compact with the Republic of
Zambia (Zambia) aimed at reducing
poverty through economic growth. MCC
funding of $458,000,000, together with
a contribution of $33,750,000 from the
Government of the Republic of Zambia
(GRZ), will support economic growth in
Zambia through investments in the
agriculture and agro-processing sectors.
MCC’s investment aims to address the
binding constraints to economic growth
of (1) poor roads and transport that
reduce market access, (2) inadequate
private investment in capital inputs
needed to boost agricultural production,
and (3) an uncertain policy environment
for inputs, outputs, and exports. The
Compact will address these constraints
through four projects: (1) the Roads and
Access Project; (2) the Asset Finance
Project; (3) the Agriculture Policy
Reform and Institutional Strengthening
Project; and (4) the American Catalyst
Facility for Development (‘‘ACFD’’)
Project.
Background and Context
The Republic of Zambia, a landlocked
country of twenty million people and 72
ethnic groups, stretches across southern
Africa’s central plateau, occupying an
area slightly larger than the state of
Texas. Categorized as a low-income
country with gross domestic product
(GDP) per capita at around US $1,300,
Zambia’s annual economic growth
averaged 3.7 percent over the period
2011 to 2021. This growth has been
inconsistent, however, primarily due to
Zambia’s dependence on exporting
copper, a commodity known for its
international price volatility. Other
vulnerabilities hampering Zambia’s
growth include reoccurring drought
shocks that harm its agriculture and
energy sectors. Further, Zambia’s
extensive public borrowing in the recent
past pushed its debt-to-GDP levels
above one hundred and twenty (120)
percent, overwhelming the country’s
ability to deliver public services and
finance future investments. Meanwhile,
the bulk of the country’s labor force
remains engaged in low-productivity
agriculture and informal services,
resulting in over half of the population
living below the poverty line and
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
84935
income inequality levels among the
world’s worst. According to the World
Bank, agriculture contributes to
approximately three (3) percent of
Zambia’s GDP yet employs over half of
its labor force.
Following the election of President
Hakainde Hichilema in August 2021,
the GRZ prioritized private sector-led
growth, more market-friendly policies,
and a decentralization of authority and
budgets to local authorities. In a
complementary vein, the GRZ also
signaled, in its national development
plan, a renewed emphasis on economic
diversification led by investments in the
country’s underperforming agriculture
and agro-processing sectors. Zambia’s
agricultural sector suffers from low
productivity, with average maize yields
hovering around two metric tons/
hectare, well below the eight tons/
hectare achieved by the country’s
leading commercial producers. Much of
Zambia’s low input use is a result of the
lack of irrigation, outdated agricultural
practices, and a highly inadequate rural
road network. This also constrains the
expansion of labor-intensive agroprocessors, who often source inputs
from local farms. Both agriculture and
agro-processing are significantly
constrained by a lack of access to credit
to finance investment in small-scale
irrigation and other inputs.
Given this sector context, the
Compact program aims to address key
constraints along the country’s
agriculture and agro-processing growth
path through a combination of
investments in rural road infrastructure,
programs to increase access to credit,
and agricultural policy reform
initiatives. Investments in these areas
will help the GRZ to substantially
diversify and grow its economy while
reducing poverty.
Project Summaries
The compact program consists of four
projects:
(1) The Roads and Access Project
($315,000,000) is designed to decrease
transportation costs in prioritized
agriculture corridors by improving
approximately 338 kilometers (210
miles) of road and transportation
infrastructure, increasing rural
population access to markets and
services, and strengthening Zambian
road asset management. The project
includes upgrading road segments based
on updated weather projections,
reducing the number of days a road
would be impassible due to flooding or
the risk of washouts. The construction
of trail bridges, pedestrian amenities,
and other physical infrastructure paired
with the application of an established
E:\FR\FM\24OCN1.SGM
24OCN1
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
84936
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 206 / Thursday, October 24, 2024 / Notices
social behavior change system (Gender
Action Learning System) will reduce
barriers to markets for rural
communities, especially women and
youth. In addition, this project will
include technical assistance and
capacity building to ensure the
sustainability of these investments
through better road asset management.
(2) The Asset Finance Project
($45,000,000) aims to increase access to
finance for investments in electricity,
irrigation, logistics and processing
(EILP) equipment and infrastructure for
both men and women-owned
agricultural small and medium
enterprises and project developers
across agriculture value chains. These
investments will contribute to Zambia’s
national development plan by
increasing the adoption of irrigation,
agro-processing and value addition,
grain and produce storage facilities, and
investments in energy sources. The
project addresses the affordability of
financing for EILP equipment through
performance-based grants to financial
service providers and equipment
providers to incentivize increased
lending and financing to the agriculture
sector for EILP equipment and
catalyzing impact investment for agrienterprises. The project will also
include capacity building and technical
assistance to public and private project
developers to increase the number of
EILP infrastructure investments in the
agriculture value chain that reach
financial close.
(3) The Agriculture Policy Reform and
Institutional Strengthening Project
($25,000,000) is designed to improve
institutional capacity to facilitate
private sector production and trade in
grains. The Compact, and its associated
reforms, will contribute to creating a
private sector-driven agriculture and
agro-processing market and support
broader efforts by the GRZ and other
donors to address key policy challenges
constraining private sector production
and trade in grain markets. To this end,
the project will strengthen the Ministry
of Agriculture’s capacity to develop and
implement reforms as well as improve
the Food Reserve Agency’s capacity to
carry out its core functions efficiently,
including managing the strategic grain
reserves, encouraging private sector
involvement in grain trading, making
timely payments for purchases, and
providing appropriate price
stabilization. It will also build the Food
Reserve Agency’s capacity for assessing,
monitoring, and analyzing the impact of
its policies and practices on food
security, poverty, and vulnerability, and
strengthen its vulnerability response
and mitigation functions. Finally, this
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:56 Oct 23, 2024
Jkt 265001
project aims to build transparency and
trust among market players by
establishing an independent market
observatory that collects timely and
accurate data on stocks and prices and
conducts relevant market analyses for
the benefit of public sector policy
makers and private sector economic
actors, and by supporting a commodity
exchange.
(4) The American Catalyst Facility for
Development (ACFD) Project
($8,000,000) is designed to facilitate the
U.S. Development Finance
Corporation’s (USDFC) investments in
Zambia in the sectors identified as
constraints to Zambia’s growth by MCC.
DFC’s current transaction pipeline in
Zambia, for example, includes several
projects that are not viable without
additional de-risking. ACFD grant
funding will enable DFC-led projects
like these, that would not otherwise be
viable, to reach financial close.
Program Budget
The table below presents the overall
budget for the program of $491,750,000,
which includes MCC funding under the
Compact of up to $458,000,000 and a
GRZ contribution of at least $33,750,000
(required minimum of 7.5 percent,
excluding ACFD).
Project/activity
Amount
Project/activity
Total Funding .........
BILLING CODE 9211–03–P
NATIONAL CREDIT UNION
ADMINISTRATION
Renewal of Agency Information
Collection of a Previously Approved
Collection; Request for Comments
National Credit Union
Administration (NCUA).
ACTION: Notice of submission to the
Office of Management and Budget.
AGENCY:
As required by the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995, The National
Credit Union Administration (NCUA) is
submitting the following extensions and
revisions of currently approved
collections to the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) for renewal.
DATES: Written comments should be
received on or before November 25,
2024 to be assured consideration.
SUMMARY:
Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent
within 30 days of publication of this
notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/
PRAMain. Find this particular
information collection by selecting
‘‘Currently under 30-day Review—Open
for Public Comments’’ or by using the
search function.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Copies of the submission may be
obtained by contacting Dacia Rogers at
(703) 518–6547, emailing
PRAComments@ncua.gov, or viewing
the entire information collection request
at www.reginfo.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
OMB Number: 3133–0198.
Title: Appeals Procedures—12 CFR
746, Subpart B.
Type of Review: Extension of a
previously approved collection.
Abstract: Part 746, subpart B, will
govern most authorized appeals to the
Board of adverse determinations made
at program office levels under agency
regulations that permit such an appeal.
The procedures are intended to result in
greater efficiency, consistency, and
better understanding of the way in
which matters under covered
regulations may be appealed to the
Board.
Affected Public: Private Sector: Notfor-profit institutions.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
34.
ADDRESSES:
$315,000,000
Total MCC Funding .......
Government of the Republic of Zambia Contribution ......................
458,000,000
Frm 00075
E:\FR\FM\24OCN1.SGM
PO 00000
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
12,000,000
18,000,000
45,000,000
23,000,000
22,000,000
25,000,000
13,300,000
7,950,000
3,750,000
8,000,000
3,000,000
62,000,000
33,750,000
491,750,000
[FR Doc. 2024–24712 Filed 10–23–24; 8:45 am]
1. Roads and Access Project
1.1 Improving Roads Activity ............................
1.2 Improving Access
Activity ........................
1.3 Strengthening Zambian Road Management Activity ..............
2. Asset Finance Project ......
2.1 Agri-SME Asset Financing Activity ..........
2.2 ZAMPPF Activity .....
3. Agriculture Policy and Institutional Strengthening
Project ...............................
3.1 MoA Institutional
Strengthening Activity
3.2 FRA Institutional Capacity Strengthening
Activity ........................
3.3 Establishment and
Strengthening of Ancillary Agricultural
Market Support Institutions Activity ............
4. American Catalyst Facility
for Development (ACFD) ..
5. Monitoring and Evaluation
6. Program Administration
and Control .......................
285,000,000
Amount
24OCN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 206 (Thursday, October 24, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 84935-84936]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-24712]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION
[MCC FR 24-11]
Notice of Entering Into a Compact With the Republic of Zambia
AGENCY: Millennium Challenge Corporation.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the provisions of the Millennium Challenge
Act of 2003, as amended, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is
publishing a summary of the Millennium Challenge Compact (Compact)
between the United States of America and the Republic of Zambia.
Representatives of the United States of America and the Republic of
Zambia executed the Compact on October 17, 2024. The complete text of
the Compact has been posted at: https://www.mcc.gov/resources/doc/agreement-zambia-farm-to-market-compact/.
(Authority: 22 U.S.C. 7709(b)(3))
Dated: October 21, 2024.
Peter E. Jaffe,
Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary.
Summary of Zambia Compact
Overview of the MCC Zambia Farm to Market Compact
The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), on behalf of the United
States of America, has signed a five-year Compact with the Republic of
Zambia (Zambia) aimed at reducing poverty through economic growth. MCC
funding of $458,000,000, together with a contribution of $33,750,000
from the Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ), will support
economic growth in Zambia through investments in the agriculture and
agro-processing sectors. MCC's investment aims to address the binding
constraints to economic growth of (1) poor roads and transport that
reduce market access, (2) inadequate private investment in capital
inputs needed to boost agricultural production, and (3) an uncertain
policy environment for inputs, outputs, and exports. The Compact will
address these constraints through four projects: (1) the Roads and
Access Project; (2) the Asset Finance Project; (3) the Agriculture
Policy Reform and Institutional Strengthening Project; and (4) the
American Catalyst Facility for Development (``ACFD'') Project.
Background and Context
The Republic of Zambia, a landlocked country of twenty million
people and 72 ethnic groups, stretches across southern Africa's central
plateau, occupying an area slightly larger than the state of Texas.
Categorized as a low-income country with gross domestic product (GDP)
per capita at around US $1,300, Zambia's annual economic growth
averaged 3.7 percent over the period 2011 to 2021. This growth has been
inconsistent, however, primarily due to Zambia's dependence on
exporting copper, a commodity known for its international price
volatility. Other vulnerabilities hampering Zambia's growth include
reoccurring drought shocks that harm its agriculture and energy
sectors. Further, Zambia's extensive public borrowing in the recent
past pushed its debt-to-GDP levels above one hundred and twenty (120)
percent, overwhelming the country's ability to deliver public services
and finance future investments. Meanwhile, the bulk of the country's
labor force remains engaged in low-productivity agriculture and
informal services, resulting in over half of the population living
below the poverty line and income inequality levels among the world's
worst. According to the World Bank, agriculture contributes to
approximately three (3) percent of Zambia's GDP yet employs over half
of its labor force.
Following the election of President Hakainde Hichilema in August
2021, the GRZ prioritized private sector-led growth, more market-
friendly policies, and a decentralization of authority and budgets to
local authorities. In a complementary vein, the GRZ also signaled, in
its national development plan, a renewed emphasis on economic
diversification led by investments in the country's underperforming
agriculture and agro-processing sectors. Zambia's agricultural sector
suffers from low productivity, with average maize yields hovering
around two metric tons/hectare, well below the eight tons/hectare
achieved by the country's leading commercial producers. Much of
Zambia's low input use is a result of the lack of irrigation, outdated
agricultural practices, and a highly inadequate rural road network.
This also constrains the expansion of labor-intensive agro-processors,
who often source inputs from local farms. Both agriculture and agro-
processing are significantly constrained by a lack of access to credit
to finance investment in small-scale irrigation and other inputs.
Given this sector context, the Compact program aims to address key
constraints along the country's agriculture and agro-processing growth
path through a combination of investments in rural road infrastructure,
programs to increase access to credit, and agricultural policy reform
initiatives. Investments in these areas will help the GRZ to
substantially diversify and grow its economy while reducing poverty.
Project Summaries
The compact program consists of four projects:
(1) The Roads and Access Project ($315,000,000) is designed to
decrease transportation costs in prioritized agriculture corridors by
improving approximately 338 kilometers (210 miles) of road and
transportation infrastructure, increasing rural population access to
markets and services, and strengthening Zambian road asset management.
The project includes upgrading road segments based on updated weather
projections, reducing the number of days a road would be impassible due
to flooding or the risk of washouts. The construction of trail bridges,
pedestrian amenities, and other physical infrastructure paired with the
application of an established
[[Page 84936]]
social behavior change system (Gender Action Learning System) will
reduce barriers to markets for rural communities, especially women and
youth. In addition, this project will include technical assistance and
capacity building to ensure the sustainability of these investments
through better road asset management.
(2) The Asset Finance Project ($45,000,000) aims to increase access
to finance for investments in electricity, irrigation, logistics and
processing (EILP) equipment and infrastructure for both men and women-
owned agricultural small and medium enterprises and project developers
across agriculture value chains. These investments will contribute to
Zambia's national development plan by increasing the adoption of
irrigation, agro-processing and value addition, grain and produce
storage facilities, and investments in energy sources. The project
addresses the affordability of financing for EILP equipment through
performance-based grants to financial service providers and equipment
providers to incentivize increased lending and financing to the
agriculture sector for EILP equipment and catalyzing impact investment
for agri-enterprises. The project will also include capacity building
and technical assistance to public and private project developers to
increase the number of EILP infrastructure investments in the
agriculture value chain that reach financial close.
(3) The Agriculture Policy Reform and Institutional Strengthening
Project ($25,000,000) is designed to improve institutional capacity to
facilitate private sector production and trade in grains. The Compact,
and its associated reforms, will contribute to creating a private
sector-driven agriculture and agro-processing market and support
broader efforts by the GRZ and other donors to address key policy
challenges constraining private sector production and trade in grain
markets. To this end, the project will strengthen the Ministry of
Agriculture's capacity to develop and implement reforms as well as
improve the Food Reserve Agency's capacity to carry out its core
functions efficiently, including managing the strategic grain reserves,
encouraging private sector involvement in grain trading, making timely
payments for purchases, and providing appropriate price stabilization.
It will also build the Food Reserve Agency's capacity for assessing,
monitoring, and analyzing the impact of its policies and practices on
food security, poverty, and vulnerability, and strengthen its
vulnerability response and mitigation functions. Finally, this project
aims to build transparency and trust among market players by
establishing an independent market observatory that collects timely and
accurate data on stocks and prices and conducts relevant market
analyses for the benefit of public sector policy makers and private
sector economic actors, and by supporting a commodity exchange.
(4) The American Catalyst Facility for Development (ACFD) Project
($8,000,000) is designed to facilitate the U.S. Development Finance
Corporation's (USDFC) investments in Zambia in the sectors identified
as constraints to Zambia's growth by MCC. DFC's current transaction
pipeline in Zambia, for example, includes several projects that are not
viable without additional de-risking. ACFD grant funding will enable
DFC-led projects like these, that would not otherwise be viable, to
reach financial close.
Program Budget
The table below presents the overall budget for the program of
$491,750,000, which includes MCC funding under the Compact of up to
$458,000,000 and a GRZ contribution of at least $33,750,000 (required
minimum of 7.5 percent, excluding ACFD).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Project/activity Amount
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Roads and Access Project............................. $315,000,000
1.1 Improving Roads Activity........................ 285,000,000
1.2 Improving Access Activity....................... 12,000,000
1.3 Strengthening Zambian Road Management Activity.. 18,000,000
2. Asset Finance Project................................ 45,000,000
2.1 Agri-SME Asset Financing Activity............... 23,000,000
2.2 ZAMPPF Activity................................. 22,000,000
3. Agriculture Policy and Institutional Strengthening 25,000,000
Project................................................
3.1 MoA Institutional Strengthening Activity........ 13,300,000
3.2 FRA Institutional Capacity Strengthening 7,950,000
Activity...........................................
3.3 Establishment and Strengthening of Ancillary 3,750,000
Agricultural Market Support Institutions Activity..
4. American Catalyst Facility for Development (ACFD).... 8,000,000
5. Monitoring and Evaluation............................ 3,000,000
6. Program Administration and Control................... 62,000,000
---------------
Total MCC Funding................................... 458,000,000
Government of the Republic of Zambia Contribution... 33,750,000
---------------
Total Funding................................... 491,750,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[FR Doc. 2024-24712 Filed 10-23-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9211-03-P
