Cooperative Development Program Ethiopia

Under the Cooperative Development Program (CDP) extension, ACDI/VOCA built upon the CDP activities implemented in Ethiopia since 2011, to expand the institutional strengthening of the Federal Cooperative Agency (FCA) and Regional Cooperative Agencies (RCA) and build the capacity of cooperatives. CDP activities continued to facilitate increased agricultural productivity, expanded trade and investment, and improvements in the cooperative legal and regulatory environment. In Ethiopia, ACDI/VOCA’s work continued to emphasize food security, increasing productivity, reducing post-harvest losses, and streamlining market access for farmers growing cereals, fruits and vegetables, pulses and oil seeds, livestock, dairy, and specialty coffee. Additionally, the CDP program leveraged and built upon ACDI/VOCA’s work in Liberia since the 1970s in collaboration with several different USG projects implemented by ACDI/VOCA to improve the capacity of the Cooperative Development Agency (CDA) and the current cooperative partners on the ground. In Liberia, CDP’s work supported food security, increasing productivity, reducing post-harvest losses, access to financial services, and streamlining market access for farmers growing palm oil and cocoa.

The CDP work in both East and West Africa supported the efforts of other USAID cooperative research 
initiatives and programs as well as cooperative research such as the U.S. Overseas Cooperative Development Council Research Group.