ACDI/VOCA is an international development nonprofit organization based in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, that fosters broad-based economic growth, increased living standards, and community development. Incorporated in 1965, ACDI/VOCA's mission is to promote economic opportunities for

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-contro ...

s, enterprises and communities through the innovative application of sound business practice. ACDI/VOCA has worked in 148 countries since 1963. Total revenues for ACDI/VOCA and its affiliates are approximately $154 million. ACDI/VOCA employs approximately 1,270 people in the US and overseas.

History

Agricultural Cooperative Development International

ACDI (Agricultural Cooperative Development International) was formed in 1966 by major U.S. farm cooperatives. Its principal objective was to provide expertise and support to cooperative enterprises in

developing countries A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...

. In 1967, ACDI helped found Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative (IFFCO), India's largest fertilizer company, re-established

cooperative banking Cooperative banking is retail and commercial banking organized on a cooperative basis. Cooperative banking institutions take deposits and lend money in most parts of the world. Cooperative banking, as discussed here, includes retail banking car ...

in Poland, and set up large business-oriented farmer organizations in East Africa, including the cooperative unions in Sidama and Yirgachefe, Ethiopia, that enabled direct export of coffee from those regions. IFFCO is still a member of ACDI.

Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance

VOCA (Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance) was established in 1970 to provide volunteer assistance in developing countries. In 1985 VOCA was the first implementer of the

USAID The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 bi ...

-funded Farmer-to-Farmer program. Volunteers have included bank presidents, coffee roasters, grain storage specialists and business magnates. After the fall of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, a substantial number of assignments were carried out in Central and Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States, in many cases providing entrepreneurs there with exposure to the dynamics of the private sector and modern commercial operations. In 1997 the two organizations merged to form ACDI/VOCA. The merger combined ACDI's long-term development approaches and VOCA's people-to-people volunteer activities. Formerly the acronym stood for the combination of the two entities (Agricultural Cooperative Development International/Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance), but today its legal name is solely the acronym. The organization's programming currently revolves around value chain approaches to enterprise development, self-sustaining financial services development, farmer organization, agribusiness development, self-help community development, and food aid, among other competencies. The organization sends hundreds of U.S. volunteer experts overseas each year on short-term assignments.

Focus areas

ACDI/VOCA works in five main areas: * Catalyzing investment *

Climate-smart agriculture Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) (or climate resilient agriculture) is an integrated approach to managing landscapes to help adapt agricultural methods, livestock and crops to the effects of climate change and, where possible, counteract it by red ...

* Empowerment & resilience * Institutional strengthening * Market systems

Funding

ACDI/VOCA receives funding from various donors, including

United States Agency for International Development The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 b ...

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...

Millennium Challenge Corporation The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is a bilateral United States foreign aid agency established by the U.S. Congress in 2004. It is an independent agency separate from the State Department and USAID. It provides grants to countries that ...

, Department for International Development,

United States African Development Foundation The United States African Development Foundation (USADF) is an independent United States government agency that provides grants of up to $250,000 for operational assistance, enterprise expansion and market linkage to early stage agriculture, e ...

(USADF), the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the

Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. The bank also maintains 31 field offic ...

, African Union Commission, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and other development funders. ACDI/VOCA also partners with private sector corporations.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:ACDI VOCA Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C. International development agencies Cooperatives Organizations established in 1963 1963 establishments in the United States