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In Indonesia, ACDI/VOCA used monetization proceeds to promote economic growth in the agricultural sector and to improve health and nutrition in impoverished rural areas. ACDI/VOCA’s work in Indonesia began as a USDA Food for Progress project in 1999, which provided short-term financing and technical assistance for small-scale poultry farmers struggling in the wake of Indonesia’s financial crisis. In 2000 the project was expanded to a comprehensive, two-year USDA-funded 416(b) program, focused not only on economic recovery in the poultry sector, but also integrated pest management, direct distribution of soy-based products and building the capacity of Indonesian universities.
Poultry Recovery Project
ACDI/VOCA, in conjunction with local partners, offered technical assistance and access to credit within the poultry sector. Over the course of the project, the following was achieved:
- more than $2 million in financing was provided to over 180 poultry sector borrowers
- more than 70 poultry sector beneficiaries were trained in agribusiness management through Indonesia- and U.S.-based trainings
- financing and technical assistance were provided to aid in the formation of six primary and one secondary cooperative
- eight rural credit banks received one-on-one technical assistance in the areas of financial and organizational management
- six Indonesian microfinance specialists attended a three-week microfinance training course at Naropa University
Sustainable Cocoa Extension Services for Smallholders (SUCCESS) Project
In response to rising rates of cocoa pod borer infestation, which threatened the livelihoods of Indonesian cocoa producers, ACDI/VOCA launched the Sustainable Cocoa Extension Services for Smallholders (SUCCESS) Project. The program trained farmers on the island of Sulawesi in environmentally responsible integrated pest management techniques designed to interrupt the life cycle of the pod borer. The SUCCESS project achieved the following results:
- training over 34,000 farmers and 1,000 extensionists
- increasing crop yields by over 30 percent
- decreasing crop losses from 40 percent to 15 percent
- decreasing dramatically the use of pesticides
- increasing farmers’ income by $540 per year
The SUCCESS project also promoted cooperative development and product marketing. One farmer organization—formed as a result of the training—signed a contract to supply cocoa to a local manufacturing plant owned by a large, multinational company.
Education for Community Food Enterprise Development (ECFED) Project
Managed by Texas A&M, the ECFED Project worked with five Indonesian universities to strengthen their capacity for agribusiness training and for training and research in food science and technology. Over the course of the project, the following was achieved:
- seven marketable products were developed in collaboration with the private sector
- 16 research and development projects were undertaken at partner universities
- six U.S. and two Indonesian students participated in research exchange programs
- food technology and agribusiness curricula were updated at participating universities, and 112 professors were included in trainings designed to help develop and update curricula in the future
- over 150 professors and over 800 agribusiness and food industry technicians and managers received training in food safety, post-harvest handling, flexible packaging and fruit processing through more than 28 workshops
- a marketing center was established to help industry members on a fee for service basis
- distance learning capacity was introduced to one university
Soymilk and Vitadele Distribution Projects
Under the USDA program and in partnership with Mercy Corps International, ACDI/VOCA funded the production and distribution of soymilk to Indonesian school children under the age of 12 in 1,452 schools in Sumatra. More than 312,000 children received soymilk. ACDI/VOCA also worked with Mercy Corps to help village health clinics (posyandus) distribute Vitadele—a nutritionally fortified supplement for children—to infants in Sumatra and to train posyandu staff in the identification and prevention of malnutrition. More than 90,000 beneficiaries received the supplement at more than 5,000 health clinics.
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