Evaluation report of the AID grant to Agricultural Cooperative Development International (ACDI)

Outside evaluation covers the period through 12/85 and is based on document review, site visits in Guatemala, Honduras, and the Philippines, and interviews with Mission, host government, and co-op officials and with farmers. Although ACDI is capably staffed and has pursued grant objectives with vigor, only partial success has been achieved due to limited demand for ACDI assistance - which in turn reflects the low priority given to cooperative development by host governments and A.I.D. Missions (especially in the Asia Region). ACDI has had the greatest success with cooperative management training, the least in creating self-sustaining, financially viable organizations. Results have varied among countries and regions, however, and have been largely dependent on the availability of Mission funding, as matching grants have generally not been forthcoming. It is unlikely that ACDI will become even partially self-sustaining in the near term, unless it greatly improves its ability to generate matching grants. In the Asia/Pacific Region, the effectiveness of ACDI's regional representative has been limited, not by his qualifications, but by minimal demand for his services, which since 8/84 have been utilized by only one Mission and that for a period of less than one month; no increase in demand is likely. ACDI's equally well-qualified Latin America/Caribbean representative, on the other hand, though mostly (75%) funded through a bilateral contract with USAID/Guatemala, has been employed by many co-ops and Missions, several of which have recommended extending his services when the USAID/G contract terminates in 1/86. However, no cooperative-to-cooperative contacts between U.S. and LAC co-ops have been initiated during the representative's tenure; it seems that U.S. co-ops lack interest in such contacts. A core grant such as this one provides valuable resources to support Mission projects in institution building; without such resources, the success of many such projects would be in doubt. Nonetheless, continued central funding for independent ACDI activity is difficult to justify unless A.I.D. gives more priority to cooperative development and ACDI finds additional funding sources.