AID grant no. PDC-0334-G-SS-6020-00 to Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance (VOCA) for strengthening developing country cooperatives and cooperative related agencies responsibile for expanding cooperative development services

More than 90 volunteers, from both VOCA"s regular program and its new Farmer-to-Farmer program, will participate over the life of the project. VOCA will focus on institutional development activities. Special attention will be given to innovative initiatives, e.g.: (1) helping a cooperative union establish an auditing service; (2) creating a nationwide farm supply distribution and agricultural marketing network; (3) persuading a development bank to channel its resources into cooperative development; (4) helping small farmers organize a farm supply distribution cooperative to serve remote areas; (5) organizing a credit union league; and (6) assisting a central development bank to study the feasibility of divesting ownership of a milk processing plant into the ownership of dairy farmers. VOCA will also promote policy dialogue with host country agencies such as the Central Bank, Development Bank, and Ministry of Agriculture. Subjects will include: national agricultural credit programs; produce marketing networks; farm supply distribution; technical and financial needs of cooperatives; and the privatization of parastals.