2024 Member Spotlight: ACDI VOCA
May 1, 2024
This month the U.S. Overseas Cooperative Development Council features our member ACDI VOCA with stories on their cooperative development work in the Philippines and Kenya. Enjoy!
Philippine Cooperative Revitalizes Solar-Powered Rice Mill
In Barangay Kidawa, located in the heartland of Laak, a municipality on the island of Mindanao, a partnership blossomed between an agricultural cooperative, a national electric foundation, and the Cooperative Development Program (CDP) in the Philippines that helped sustain the livelihoods of at least 500 rice farmers. Read the story and watch Parts I and II of CNN Philippines’ “Business Matters,” featuring these CDP participants and cooperative members.
Celebrating the Women of BACOFA, a Female-Led Specialty Coffee Cooperative in the Philippines
The foothills of Mount Apo are home to the Philippines’s growing specialty coffee industry. They are also home to BACOFA, a women’s specialty coffee cooperative, once supported by ACDI/VOCA through the USDA-funded Philippine Coffee Advancement and Farm Enterprise (PhilCAFE).
Before BACOFA acquired more members and improved its coffee’s quality, they received subsidies from the government. Now, their members’ incomes have increased so much that they no longer qualify for those subsidies.
Northern Kenya Cooperative Meets the Demand for Fish
In Marsabit County, on the eastern bank of Lake Turkana, the world’s largest desert lake, a fishing cooperative grew its membership from 60 to 205 members from 2021 to 2023. How did they do it? A partnership between the Feed the Future Kenya Livestock Market Systems Activity and the county government helped the Loiyangalani Fish Cooperative purchase deep freezers, cooler boxes, and a solar-powered system for their storage center. Before they had proper storage, the group mostly smoked, salted, and sun-dried fish, which depreciated its value by 70 percent, earning them $5 per 10 fish. Selling fresh fish now earns each member $15 per 10 fish.
ACDI/VOCA is a global development design and delivery partner based in Washington, D.C. As a leading market systems practitioner, they address issues of food security, economic prosperity, and social inclusion through locally driven market solutions.
ACDI/VOCA has a long history of cooperative development, beginning in 1963 when the organization was first founded to support farming cooperatives globally. Since then, they’ve expanded economic and social opportunities for communities in nearly 150 nations by collaborating with governments, civil society, private companies, and financial institutions.
Their areas of expertise include agriculture, economic growth, resilience, finance, and equity and inclusion. ACDI/VOCA employs around 1,000 people in the United States and globally.
See previous OCDC spotlight on ACDI VOCA here.
