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Leonard Attends Africa Conference in Edinburgh, July 6-8

ACDI/VOCA President Carl Leonard participated in the “Raising Living Standards in Africa: A Role for the G8” conference sponsored by the German Marshall Fund of the U.S. and the Partnership to Cut Hunger in Africa, which took place in Scotland concurrently with the G8 summit. Participants and speakers came from government, the private sector and development, aid, academic and political bodies. The conference reinforced support for the G8’s Africa focus and considered programs to reduce poverty in Africa. Topics included democratic and governance reforms, trade capacity and the role of the international business community. As a panelist, Carl described ACDI/VOCA’s approaches in fostering enterprise, cooperative and agricultural development in Ethiopia, Angola, Malawi, Kenya, and Uganda. ACDI/VOCA has over $110 million in projects currently under contract in sub-Saharan Africa. (back to top).

Sidamo Coffee Named Starbucks Black Apron Exclusive™

Coffee produced by the Ferro Coffee Cooperative, one of 39 co-ops in the Sidama Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union that received assistance under ACDI/VOCA’s Agriculture Cooperatives in Ethiopia (ACE) Project, was in August named a Black Apron Exclusive by the Starbucks Coffee Company. The Sidamo (Sidama is the place, Sidamo the coffee) grade 4 unwashed (sun-dried) coffee was purchased through the Swiss broker Volcafe, and joins the ranks of the very few coffees honored with the Black Apron designation. The selected coffees always hail from very distinct and scarce crops, and are usually available in very limited quantities, in this case two containers full. The recognition carries with it a $15,000 cash prize for community self-improvement which will be presented to the co-op at a ceremony next November. Christopher Jordan, Manager of Green Coffee Quality at Starbucks Trading Company, noted that the Sidamo coffee cupped “exceptionally” and that Starbucks “is keen to develop a continuous supply of this profile.” The Black Apron Exclusives line of coffee is named for the coveted apparel worn by Starbucks’ most knowledgeable buyers, roasters, tasters and coffee masters. (back to top).


SUCCESS Alliance Regional Conference, Palawan, Philippines

ACDI/VOCA's Food for Development Division conducted July 21-24 the second annual conference to share expertise and lessons learned from our cocoa development programs. Approximately 150 people from local governments, the private sector (e.g., Mars, Continaf, Nestlé, Briggs & Stratton) and the donor community participated. In addition to fostering productive discussions with a wide range of partners, donors and government officials, the event heightened awareness among the Philippine government and donors about Alliance activities. ACDI/VOCA partnered with USAID/Indonesia, Masterfoods and the World Cocoa Foundation to form the SUCCESS Alliance, which promotes an integrated approach to farmer training, information exchange and applied research to control cocoa pests and increase smallholder productivity while protecting the environment. It has spread from Indonesia to the Philippines, Vietnam and Ecuador. (back to top).


ACDI/VOCA Farmer-to-Farmer Volunteers Boost U.S.-Russia Trade

Drs. Alling Yanci and Beth Krushinsky have built significant bridges between the U.S. and Russian poultry industries and scientific communities on the issue of food safety. The volunteers presented information at a Moscow conference sponsored by the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council (USAPEEC), which represents 90 percent of all U.S. exports in poultry and eggs. The conference was crucial because of recent disruptions of U.S. poultry exports to Russia over food safety issues. As the Wall Street Journal claims, "...food safety is becoming the stealth weapon of protectionism in the $522 billion market for global agricultural exports." According to conference moderator, USAPEEC’s Albert Davleyev, “It was one of the most successful and productive workshops that USAPEEC has conducted since its establishment in Russia in 1998….We have managed not only to explain the essence and principles of US federal regulations in this area, but to a great extent change the negative or skeptical attitude of Russian vet and poultry specialists toward safety and quality control systems in the U.S." (back to top).


Value Chain Study Published

ACDI/VOCA’s Value Chain Study of Mozambique’s Rural Financial Services (Kula, Farmer, 2004) has been posted at bdsknowledge.org, an interagency website sponsored by the ILO, Swiss SDC and DFID among others for the exchange of information on service markets.

The study describes horticulture and oilseeds value chains in the agribusiness cluster of Beira, Mozambique. It identifies the limited access to financial services, particularly by the larger processing firms that buy from small and medium-sized enterprises, and makes recommendations. It also raises a fundamental question about managing value chain knowledge. It finds enormous potential for growth in smallholder incomes and in trade through investment in horticulture and oilseeds. According to the study, recent improvements in the enabling environment have attracted domestic and foreign direct investment, which has triggered demand for a wide range of services, thus leading to the emergence of an agribusiness cluster. However, current levels of investment are insufficient to take advantage of market opportunities. The financing gap requires an increase in equity and debt capital, short- and long-term, particularly in the form of products tailored to agribusiness cash-flow. According to the study, despite growth in investment, business environmental constraints remain a hindrance. It also finds that coordination and cooperation among all stakeholders—small and large, private, public, and donor—is critical to developing and maintaining competitiveness. (back to top).