Project assistance completion report : cooperative management strengthening, 515-0248

The project was implemented by Agricultural Cooperative Development International (ACDI). Although implementation was severely hampered for the first 15 months by a reduction in the level of technical effort, the lack of TA in coffee renovation credit, and delays in contracting local staff, ACDI provided much valuable assistance to Costa Rican cooperatives and surpassed project targets in all respects except for supervision and recuperation of funds disbursed for coffee renovation credit and financial stability of cooperatives. During the life of the project, ACDI worked with 22 of Costa Rica's 33 coffee cooperatives and with the Costa Rican Federation of Coffee Cooperatives (FEDECOOP) and either prepared or contributed significantly to the preparation of action documentation for 13 cooperatives. However, as of 4/91 only 8 of 24 cooperatives seeking loans had been recommended to the banks. The project's impact on the processing and marketing of non-traditional products was significant. The COOPECHAYOTE cooperative, for example, is now handling more than 30% of the total production of chayotes for export thanks to a refrigeration plant, the development of a U.S. market, and the use of improved seeds. ACDI also helped the Fruit Production Association of the Pacifico Central (ASOFRUPAC) renegotiate its export contract on more favorable terms, and helped ADAPEX, in the mini-vegetable sector, avoid the use of herbicides and fungicides banned in the United States. Other accomplishments included four observation trips to the United States and Mexico which provided valuable production and marketing information to 19 cooperative members; a series of topical and technical seminars and lectures for more than 200 others; and two very good (and published) papers on management training. ACDI also helped FEDECOOP revise its Model Budget for a Coffee Producers' Cooperative. In general, ACDI chose clients on the basis of their likely impact on the nontraditional export sector. A key factor in this decision was the willingness of cooperative management to adopt a more businesslike mentality. ACDI's decision to work with ADAPEX was also based on potential social benefits to the very poor area which ADAPEX represented. Besides influencing technical decisions, ACDI took on the onerous task of instilling a business-like mentality in its clients, although the impact of this effort can only be measured in the long run. In sum, ACDI is well thought of within USAID and Costa Rican institutions, and its assistance was consistent with the needs and individual requirements of the cooperatives and associations it assisted, which have expressed satisfaction with ACDI's work.