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The Administration considers the agricultural sector one of 

 the keys to the economic restructuring of the NIS. So far this 

 fiscal year, we have signed agreements with eight of the NIS 

 for a total of $337 million in grant food assistance and 

 commercial and concessional sales of U.S. agricultural 

 commodities. 



We have been active in developing and implementing a 

 technical assistance program to address the four principal 

 bottlenecks to the development of market-oriented agriculture 

 — public policy, agricultural credit, infrastructure, and 

 inputs. We have already committed over $100 million in 

 technical assistance to the agricultural sector in the NIS over 

 the next three years. Our programs fall into four categories: 

 policy advice, agricultural exchanges, agribusiness 

 development, and agricultural demonstration and training 

 projects . 



Policy Advice : To provide the necessary policy framework 

 for the development of a market-oriented agricultural system, 

 we have sent two resident agricultural policy advisers to work 

 with the Ministries of Agriculture in Russia and Kazakhstan, 

 and two agricultural extension advisers to Armenia, one of whom 

 is a policy specialist. 



