Kenya Minister of Agriculture Kipruto Arap Kirwa gives an award to a Kenyan farmer at ACDI/VOCA's largest-ever annual maize business fair.

ACDI/VOCA Organizes Conference on Egyptian Livestock Value Chain

With support from USAID, ACDI/VOCA’s Agricultural Exports and Rural Incomes Dairy and Livestock project in Egypt organized a national conference called “The Livestock Value Chain in Upper Egypt: Challenges and Opportunities,” Sept. 3-5. The conference brought together livestock producers and other industry stakeholders to create networks and share infromation to strengthen the livestock value chain in Upper Egypt. The three-day event featured expert presenters and panelists who focused on the challenges facing the livestock sector as well as current market opportunities. More.

ACDI/VOCA-Assisted Rwandan Cooperative Coffee Awarded High Marks

Coffee produced by the Karaba Coffee Cooperative of Rwanda, a co-op that has received assistance from ACDI/VOCA, got high marks from Coffee Review, a leading coffee buying guide run by coffee guru Kenneth Davids. The coffee, which is being sold by Colorado’s Allegro Coffee, received an impressive score of 96. Karaba Coffee Cooperative, also known as Koakaka, received a $36,000 grant from ACDI/VOCA in 2003 through its 2000-2005 USAID-funded PL 480 Title II Development Assistance Program, which was used to construct a coffee washing station. The co-op received additional support in the form of management and governance training and assistance with Fair Trade inspections. “The ability to cup coffee and make informed decisions on the grading of small lots at a washing station is key to entering the specialty sector,” said ACDI/VOCA-Rwanda Chief of Party Paul DeLucco. More.

In recent years Azerbaijan has made great strides in modernizing its banking and financial regulatory system, which in turn has improved access to credit and fueled economic growth. Despite its gains, Azerbaijan lacks an effective system for banks and nonbank financial institutions, such as microfinance institutions, to safely accept movable property as collateral. Because there is no centralized register, secured transactions are ineffective, inefficient and costly. The inability to use movable property such as equipment, livestock, etc., as collateral is particularly significant for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) since many do not own immovable property such as land or buildings. As an innovation under its $6.4 million, USAID-funded SME Support through Financial Sector Development project, ACDI/VOCA has helped draft a new secured transaction law and establish a related filing office. Both will make it easier for banks to provide capital to SMEs. More.

On Sept. 19 U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman toured the new Zahle pilot-product development plant built by ACDI/VOCA's Action for Sustainable Agro-Industry in Lebanon (ASAIL) project. ASAIL is a two-year $6.9 million program funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. ACDI/VOCA-Lebanon Country Representative Noubia Gribi and Deputy Chief of Party Imad Hamze led the tour that included USAID General Development Officer Stephen Herbaly and other USAID and U.S. Embassy officials. The plant’s president, who is also president of the Beqa’a Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture, Edmond Jureissati, accompanied the group. More.

When ACDI/VOCA launched its Growth-Oriented Microenterprise Development (GMED) project in India in 2004, it was clear that supplying the rapidly expanding organized retail (supermarket) sector provided great opportunities for upgrading the livelihoods of smallholder vegetable and fruit farmers. This is particularly true since there are not enough large-scale farmers to meet the growing demand (80 percent of Indian farmers cultivate less than five acres). Successfully integrating smallholder farmers into the commercial fresh produce supply chains, however, proved to be a major challenge. The main obstacle was the common belief among large corporate players that smallholders could not be relied on to consistently deliver the required quantity or quality of fruits and vegetables. This was understandable since no one had ever attempted to incorporate smallholder vegetable and fruit growers into organized retail supply chains. Two years ago, ACDI/VOCA partnered with a major Indian corporation, ITC Limited, to disprove the naysayers. The two organizations started with 500 smallholder (2 to 5 acres) vegetable farmers, adopting an approach that was innovative but simple. ACDI/VOCA trained ITC field extension staff to transfer packages of production and post-harvest practices to the farmers, while ITC purchased their output, providing them with an assured market. More.

On Aug. 9 General Sales Manager for USDA Foreign Agricultural Service Kirk Miller and USDA Agriculture Counselor for Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador Gene Philhower visited ACDI/VOCA’s $5 million, three-year SUCCESS Alliance project in Ecuador. The USDA officials visited a cocoa solar dryer located in Supaypungo, Naranjito, in Guayas province. There they talked to producers participating in a commercialization program that brings together 8 communities (approximately 60 farmers) to harvest and sell quality cocoa. The SUCCESS Alliance farmers have joined forces in order to increase sales volume, save on input purchases and ensure quality so that they may capture a higher percentage of the profits. ACDI/VOCA provides these farmers with skills to shop their cocoa around for the highest price and to access higher-end markets. The cocoa producers have been doing this for about three months and are happy with the improved income that they have obtained so far. More.

ACDI/VOCA is honored to welcome two new members to its board of directors: Deborah Atwood and Philip S. DiPofi. Atwood is a partner with C&M Capitolink. She works closely with Congress, the White House, senior administration officials, and federal and state agencies on behalf of clients in the chemical, agricultural, environmental, mining and food industries. Ms. Atwood served as a partner at Capitolink from 1999 until 2001 when she took a leave of absence to serve in the Bush administration from August 2001 to September 2003 as special assistant to Deputy Secretary of Agriculture James Moseley.

Upon the recent retirement of longtime director Everett Dobrinski, CoBank has appointed DiPofi as its representative. As executive vice president and head of CoBank’s Agribusiness Banking Group, DiPofi is responsible for the bank’s U.S. agricultural cooperative customers, institutional lending relationships with Agricultural Credit Associations, and CoBank's subsidiary, Farm Credit Leasing. He oversees the delivery of credit and other financial services to these customers and strengthens CoBank’s relationships with the Farm Credit System. He is a member of CoBank’s senior leadership team, and serves on the management executive, asset/liability and loan committees. CoBank, of Denver, Colo., is a member of the $163 billion U.S. farm credit system. More.

Kenya Maize Handbook Published

ACDI/VOCA’s Kenya Maize Development Program launched the most ambitious of the program’s 37 training manuals and resource guides at a gala dinner presided over by Kenya Minister of Agriculture Kipruto Arap Kirwa during the 2007 annual maize business fair (see above). The 176-page, 4-color "Kenya Maize Handbook" is a comprehensive resource for farmers, extension workers, traders and other participants in the maize value chain. ACDI/VOCA developed the handbook in collaboration with Farm Input Promotions Africa Ltd. and with the financial support of USAID. Input was provided by an extraordinary array of 149 stakeholder organizations and institutions ranging from government offices to banks, seed companies, traders and millers, universities and NGOs, including key contributors the Cereal Growers Association and the Kenya Agricultural Commodity Exchange. More.

ACDI/VOCA has partnered with USAID to strengthen Egypt’s response to avian influenza (AI) by conducting a public awareness campaign throughout the country to prevent and mitigate outbreaks. Under its 4-year, $8.3 million USAID-funded Agricultural Exports and Rural Incomes (AERI) Dairy and Livestock project, ACDI/VOCA has distributed 24,500 informational brochures in Upper and Lower Egypt. The campaign will increase public awareness about the AI pandemic and disseminate risk-prevention messages against human infection of the AI virus H5N1. More.

On Sept. 24 ACDI/VOCA sponsored a four-hour meeting in the Russell Senate Office Building to explore how NGOs and other entities will relate with AFRICOM, the U.S military's new command covering Africa. AFRICOM will be gradually brought to full capacity over the next year. It will be made up of all branches of the military, as well as civilians from not only the Defense and State Departments, but also the Agriculture, Treasury and Commerce Departments, and USAID. Its security role is expected to extend to humanitarian and training activities. The well-attended meeting was opened by ACDI/VOCA President Carl Leonard who pointed out the need for a holistic approach, saying "NGOs are increasingly being asked to work with the military, and the military is increasingly tasked with traditionally civilian functions." ACDI/VOCA's Director of Civil-Military Relations Bill Stuebner introduced participating Hill staff, representatives from USAID and the State and Defense Departments, and a high-ranking former UN official, saying that as a military officer, he had had to learn to “spell NGO” in order to successfully wage peace. He added, "The diplomacy, stability and development goals of AFRICOM are needed to stop war at phase zero." There was a lively and productive exchange of views, and follow-on meetings are expected.

We Need You:

Long-term Overseas and Consultant Positions: Current positions we're looking to fill include the following:

Haiti: Deputy 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.

Volunteer Positions: We need volunteers on an ongoing basis for short-term (typically 2 to 3 weeks) assignments who have the following areas of 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 open volunteer positions include

Uganda: Integrated Pest Management—Community-based organization needs technical assistance to train farmers in IPM. 3 weeks, October 2007.

Azerbaijan: Improving the Existing Carrot-Growing Practices—Local NGO needs technical assistance in carrot-growing skills and recommendations on how to produce and handle high-quality carrots. 2 weeks, October 2007.

Rwanda: Food Security Assessment—The Institutional Capacity Building Program would like a specialist experienced in food security programs to conduct a long-term food security assessment and present findings outlining best practices and lessons learned. 2 weeks in-country with some additional prep time, October/November 2007.

Ethiopia: Mango Production—Mango producers need a specialist with knowledge and experience in tropical horticulture production systems management. 3 weeks.

Bilingual (Spanish/English) Agricultural Specialists: We are seeking qualified agricultural specialists who are proficient in Spanish to complete 3-4 week assignments in Latin America. Areas of specialty vary, but may include honey production, ecotourism, small business development and commercial animal feed. If you have strong language skills and 10+ years of work experience, please send your résumé to recruiter Diana Boni at dboni@acdivoca.org.

Please visit our website for more volunteer opportunities and information .

2007 Annual ACDI/VOCA Photo Contest Results

ACDI/VOCA-Ecuador Farmer Organization Specialist Jaime Freire won the 2007 Annual ACDI/VOCA Photo Contest with his beautiful photo of SUCCESS Alliance beneficiary Tomás Gracia.

Gracia is a smallholder cocoa farmer from the Esmeraldas region of Ecuador, who has applied the practices he’s learned from ACDI/VOCA’s SUCCESS Alliance cocoa-growing training to his 120 cocoa trees. Each tree now produces an impressive average of 200 pods, boosting his income and enabling him to become more economically secure.

ACDI/VOCA volunteers, consultants and staff submitted well over 300 photos to the contest. Check out the runner-up winners and honorable mentions on our website here.