I am writing to ask you to sign onto the Dear Colleague letter being circulated by Representatives Pocan and Honda regarding the Millennium Challenge Corporation compact with El Salvador and the risk it currently poses to family farmers.
It has come to my attention that the US Embassy is requiring that El Salvador, in order to receive a second MCC compact, eliminate a provision that allows the government to purchase seeds for its Family Agriculture Plan from small-scale producers.
This provision has been key to the success of the Family Agriculture Plan, which is helping to revitalize the agricultural sector in El Salvador by providing seeds and technical assistance to over 400,000 family farmers. It has allowed many small- and medium-scale producers the opportunity to bid on government contracts from which they would otherwise be excluded, thereby breaking the monopoly held by two major agricultural corporations.
The repeal of this law would limit the government's ability to purchase the highest-quality seeds at the best price, which is essential to the country's goal of ensuring food security. It would also place corporations at a considerable advantage over small-scale producers, thus jeopardizing El Salvador's efforts to reduce rural poverty.
The terms of El Salvador’s food security program should not be a matter of negotiation for the MCC compact, nor should the State Department use the final approval of the compact as a way to exert undue influence on El Salvador's domestic economic policy.
I hope you agree that US development aid should be used to support sustainable development efforts in El Salvador, not to undermine them on behalf of narrow corporate interests. I urge you to sign onto this important letter. Please contact Alicia Molt ASAP at Congressman Pocan's office in order to do so. The letter will close on Thursday, June 26.
Thank you.
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