ACDI/VOCA Board Visits Colombia
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Board members Deborah Atwood (center) and Bruce Johnson (right) speak with ACDI/VOCA-Colombia Chief of Party Luis Alberto Cuéllar Gómez during a visit to a beneficiary's farm. |
ACDI/VOCA board members Mort Neufville, Deborah Atwood and Bruce Johnson traveled March 10-14 to Colombia to gain familiarity with our new USAID-funded project, the Coffee Alliance for the Expansion of Specialty Coffees (CAFES). They were accompanied by President Carl Leonard, Managing Director for Latin America & Caribbean Portfolio Charles Cox and VP for Communication Perry Letson.
CAFES is a follow-on to our successful 2002-2007 Specialty Coffee Program, also funded by USAID, which exceeded all its targets in raising the quality profile of Colombian specialty coffee. A USAID official told the board members that the previous project achieved "some of the best accomplishments seen under the entire USAID portfolio." Besides meeting with ACDI/VOCA and USAID staff, including USAID Mission Director Liliana Ayalde, board members visited federal and local government officials, cooperative staff, and other partners and growers who are all part of this complex, collaborative effort, which extends even to U.S. and European roasters.
More.
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ACDI/VOCA Helps Georgian Wineries Sell to Whole Foods
With help from ACDI/VOCA, two Georgian wineries—Vinoterra and Tsinandali Old Cellar—have signed contracts to export wine to the United States. The wine will be sold at Whole Foods Market, the world's largest retailer of natural and organic foods. ACDI/VOCA's USAID-funded AgVANTAGE project recently organized a tour of the two wineries in the Kakheti region and supported the wineries in securing the contracts with Whole Foods. Applauding the achievement, U.S Ambassador to Georgia John Tefft said, "I am happy that U.S. citizens will also have the chance to taste high-quality Georgian wines." The first order of 10,500 bottles, worth $48,000, will be shipped to Seattle, Wash., but that volume of business is expected to more than double within the first year.
More.
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ICT to Improve Supply Chain and Increase Profits in India
 In India the current process of moving products from rural farms to urban markets is marked by constraints that lead to income loss and waste. To improve efficiencies in the agricultural supply chain and maximize smallholders' profits, ACDI/VOCA and Infosys Technologies, Ltd., an India-based leader in global information technology with offices in 23 countries, have developed an information and communication technology (ICT)-enabled application. The system will overcome the urban-rural divide by minimizing inventory requirements, reducing waste and connecting retailers and farmers through real-time communication. More.
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CredAgro Wins National Award
 CredAgro received the impressive 2007 Ugur Award for its "contribution to the development of the agriculture sector" at a ceremony in Baku, Azerbaijan. The Ugur (meaning "success" in Azerbaijani) award is the pre-eminent national award given by Consulting & Business magazine to individuals and companies for their work in strengthening and developing Azerbaijan's business sector. ACDI/VOCA established CredAgro, a nonbank credit institution, with funding from USAID. In 2006 CredAgro was rated by Microfinanza Rating Agency and received BBB grade, the highest among all financial institutions in Azerbaijan. At present, CredAgro provides services to more than 27 regions of Azerbaijan, operating 12 branches and 9 offices and offering 8 financial products. More.
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ACDI/VOCA Helps Craft Tunisian Trade Relations Report
The Africa Society of the National Summit on Africa and the United States Chamber of Commerce have published a report on a joint November 2007 trip to Tunisia to build U.S. trade relations. Jim Phippard, who has since retired from ACDI/VOCA, played an integral role in the trade relations trip and the creation of the report. The report contains information regarding the trade mission's exploration of opportunities for U.S. business in the Tunisian market and steps to foster dialogue between the U.S. business community and counterparts in Tunisia. The participants learned about best U.S. prospects for exports and examined Tunisia's most viable economic sectors, including textiles, footwear, information technology, agribusiness, automotive, electronics, energy and tourism. More.
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ACDI/VOCA Hosts Conference to Promote CIPA Training in Azerbaijan
 On January 30, ACDI/VOCA hosted a conference in Azerbaijan to promote its Certified International Professional Accountant (CIPA) program. The program is part of ACDI/VOCA's USAID-funded SME Support through Financial Sector Development project and aims to combat the lack of highly trained financial professionals in Azerbaijan. The CIPA program is the only Russian-language training, examination and certification program for professional accountants, financial managers and auditors. The program trains accountants to become certified according to International Accounting Standards (IAS) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and is well recognized in many countries of the former Soviet Union. The training enables Azeri institutions to navigate international financial business standards and processes. Transitioning successfully to IAS and IFRS is a priority in developing the Azeri financial services sector. More.
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Leavens Guest Lectures at SAIS
On March 12, Doug Leavens, technical managing director for ACDI/VOCA's Financial Services and Integrated Rural Development portfolio, guest lectured at the Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, D.C. Leavens, who has extensive experience in the development of microfinance in Africa, spoke to graduate students who are currently studying African economic structural obstacles and the development strategies employed to overcome them. He spoke about microfinance's impact in Africa and its future, particularly the growing movement toward commercial banking structures in some countries. "Besides being a great opportunity to share actual stories and first-hand experience with an interested, well-informed group of next-generation development professionals," Leavens said, "it was a chance to showcase ACDI/VOCA's extensive value chain development and financing history." More.
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 Since 1992, ACDI/VOCA has invested more than $40 million to promote food security in Cape Verde. A new video about ACDI/VOCA's work in the country, highlighting its contributions to the geographic, social and economic betterment of the communities, is available on our website. Click to view the video here.
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ACDI/VOCA Sponsors Kickoff for Asia Society's Development Series On February 5 ACDI/VOCA, together with BearingPoint, sponsored the Asia Society Development Series kickoff luncheon at the St. Regis Hotel in Washington, D.C. USAID Assistant Administrator Kent Hill, pinch-hitting as featured luncheon speaker for USAID Administrator Henrietta Fore who was unavailable due to illness, spoke on "Building Partnerships in Asia." He said the Global Development Alliance mechanism, under which 600 public-private alliances have been formed to date, has reversed a historic trend: so far, this program has received $2.1 million from USAID and $5.8 billion from partners. Hill mentioned ACDI/VOCA's SUCCESS Alliance project in partnership with Mars, Inc., as an example of a good public-private partnership. Mars is a leader in the industry's global effort for cocoa sustainability, and ACDI/VOCA is expert in strengthening the smallholder link in the cocoa value chain in Ecuador, Indonesia, the Philippines, Liberia and Vietnam. More.
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Good News Out of Africa from Liberia's President
A new Center for Global Development essay co-authored by Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and CGD Senior Fellow Steve Radelet describes how a growing number of African countries are embracing democracy and good governance, strengthening macroeconomic policies, and benefiting from debt relief. These countries are in the midst of an economic and development rebound, with economic growth averaging 5 percent for a decade, poverty rates beginning to fall, and social indicators beginning to improve. The essay concludes with recommendations on how this progress can be sustained and consolidated.
Read the essay
here.
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Haiti: $37 million, 5-year PL 480 Title II Multi-Year Assistance Program funded by the USAID Office of Food for Peace to develop sustainable livelihood, health and nutrition strategies to address food insecurity issues for vulnerable populations. |
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Ecuador: USDA PL 480 bridge funding to continue our successful cocoa-development project until 2009.
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Liberia: Three-year subcontract under the USAID-funded Land Rights and Community Forestry Project. |
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Long-term Overseas and Consultant Positions: Current positions we're looking to fill include the following:
Mozambique: Team Leader
Liberia: Program Manager
Egypt: Chief of Party
In addition, we're looking for applicants with expertise in
- conflict-affected regions
- infrastructure development
- horticulture (fruit and vegetables)
- specialty crops (cocoa, coffee, spices)
- cereals
- value chain or subsector analysis and value chain development
Please visit our website for more career opportunities.
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Volunteer Positions: We need volunteers on an ongoing basis for short-term (typically 2 to 3 weeks) assignments who have the following expertise:
- horticulture, specifically relating to tomatoes and fruit trees
- dairy production and processing
- veterinary medicine and reproductive health
- strategic planning for ag associations and cooperatives
Current volunteer opportunities include the following:
Georgia: Poultry Production—technical assistance with broiler/chicken production. Two weeks, April/May 2008.
Georgia: Extrusion Line for Fish Feed—technical assistance to conduct an overview of and make recommendations for fish (trout, khramuli) feed extrusion line. Two weeks, April 2008.
Georgia: Cattle Breeding—technical assistance to assist livestock farmers in cattle breeding and winterization. Two weeks, April/May 2008.
Paraguay: Feasibility Study for Cotton Medical Supplies—technical assistance to identify market potential for cotton products in the medical supply industry. Two weeks, April/May 2008.
Russia: Dairy Warehouse Management System—technical assistance to improve current warehouse management and advise on the purchase of a modern computer system. Two weeks, April/May 2008.
Russia: Veterinary Practices—technical training on diagnosis and treatment of diseases affecting dairy cattle as well as hands-on training for basic surgeries. Two weeks, April/May 2008.
Please visit our website for more volunteer opportunities and information.
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