WASHINGTON, June 18, 2002 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced that it will donate 16,400 metric tons of U.S. soybeans to the Northwest Medical Teams International (NWMT) for use in Uzbekistan.
NWMT, a private voluntary organization, will sell the donated commodity in Uzbekistan and use the proceeds from the sale to implement various agricultural and public health activities, including emergency medical services training, reforestation and drought mitigation, micro-credit lending, water supply renovation and agricultural development.
The fiscal 2002 agreement with NWMT was signed on May 31, 2002. The donation will be made under USDA's Food for Progress program, administered by the Foreign Agricultural Service. The supply period for this donation is fiscal year 2002.
For further information, contact Karen Uetrecht of FAS at (202) 720-0761, or send a message via the Internet to Uetrecht@fas.usda.gov.