Short Name: ACDI/VOCA
Address Line 1: Unit D2
Address Line 2:
Street - Number and Name: 40 Ba Huyen Thanh Quan
District:
City: Ho Chi Minh City
Contact Person – Vietnam: Ms. Tran Thanh Huyen
Email address: info@acdivoca.org.vn
Phone: +84-8-3930 5689
Fax: +84-8-3930 2783
International website: http://www.acdivoca.org
Vietnam website: http://www.thesuccessalliance.org
International Headquarter:
Mission Statement: Expanding Opportunities Worldwide
History of operations in Vietnam: In Vietnam, ACDI/VOCA started its first project in 2002 in partnership with central and local Governmental bodies. Up to now, three projects have been implemented in over 10 provinces thought out Vietnam with total budget of more than 11 millions USD.
Vietnam Programme Description: The Sustainable Cocoa Enterprise Solutions for Smallholders (SUCCESS) Alliance program in Vietnam is a public-private partnership consisting of USAID, USDA, the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF), Mars Inc. and ACDI/VOCA. Since the $5.5 million program's inception in 2003 under USDA's Food for Progress funding, it has grown to include new farmers, areas, partners and donors. The initiative builds on past successful cocoa programs in Indonesia and the Philippines and on ACDI/VOCA’s strong relationship with the cocoa industry. SUCCESS Alliance increases smallholder farmers’ incomes in Vietnam through the introduction of sustainable, diversified cocoa-based agroforestry systems. Since cocoa is a new crop to Vietnam, the program is focusing on building a sustainable cocoa industry from the ground up. When the first SUCCESS Alliance cocoa seedlings were planted in 2004, there were only 1,600 hectares of cocoa plantings in all of Vietnam, mainly at state-owned farms. Over the past 4 years, the project has increased and diversified farmer incomes in southern Vietnam by producing high-quality cocoa on approximately 8,500 hectares of land. It has trained over 17,000 smallholder farmers in southeastern Vietnam in cocoa production using sustainable cropping practices. In addition, ACDI/VOCA has established cocoa bean quality standards and provided monitoring and training assistance to ensure farmers meet and maintain a level of cocoa bean quality that is required by the global market. Target cocoa production areas include four main provinces—Ben Tre and Tien Giang in the Mekong delta and Ba Ria Vung Tau and Binh Phuoc in the southeast region. These areas have favorable climatic and soil conditions and local government commitment to cocoa development. Cocoa farms in these provinces began to produce cocoa within 18 months of initial planting and as of 2008 are on the verge of reaching full production. Peak production is expected to be between 1.5 to 2.0 metric tons per hectare, which at current world prices would earn $3,750 to $5,000 per hectare. These new cocoa farmers are independent smallholders who sell their cocoa through private, free enterprise channels into the world market. ACDI/VOCA provides an opportunity for rural traders, business people and domestic food processors to participate in the global cocoa bean trade, which exceeds $6 billion annually. In addition to the USDA Food for Progress funding, ACDI/VOCA’s cocoa development work in Vietnam was also supported by a Global Development Alliance (GDA) award from USAID from 2003-2006. This $870,000 grant helped to strengthen market linkages in the cocoa supply chain and improve cocoa bean fermentation quality in the four initial provinces. In 2006 ACDI/VOCA won an additional $750,000 grant from the State Department’s Economic Support Fund (ESF) managed by USAID, to expand the SUCCESS Alliance and introduce cocoa to the impoverished Dak Lak Province of the Central Highlands. To date, 1,830 smallholder farmers in the Lak and Ea’Kar districts have been enrolled in the project and have begun to learn how to cultivate cocoa. SUCCESS Alliance in the Central Highlands specifically targets poor and ethnic minority communities. This grant has allowed ACDI/VOCA to extend cocoa farming systems using the same methodologies that have been so successful in other parts of the country. The newest addition to cocoa development in Vietnam is a small pilot project that was started in 2007 in the Lam Dong Province of the Central Highlands. With funding from a private cocoa trading company, Touton S.A., and support from our partners the World Wildlife Fund, Forest Science Sub-Institute of Vietnam and the Agricultural Office of Da Hoai District, ACDI/VOCA has instituted the Community-Sustainable Cocoa Agroforestry Systems (C-SCAS) project. This pilot helps 30 ethnic minority households on a 40-hectare plot of land develop cocoa in a forest ecosystem. The C-SCAS model will demonstrate that cocoa can successfully be grown under the forest canopy and intercropped with other economic trees. While commercial agriculture has led to land clearance and threatened biodiversity, cocoa farming can be part of the solution for both local livelihood and conservation. In implementing the project, ACDI/VOCA has been supported by the WCF, which was founded by the Chocolate Manufacturers Association of America, Mars Inc., the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and provincial Departments for Agricultural and Rural Development (DARD). Also contributing are three educational institutions, Nong Lam University (NLU) in Ho Chi Minh City and the Western Highlands Agro-forestry Science and Technical Institute (WASI) and the Central Highlands University (CHU) in Buon Ma Thuot. Together, these partners bring years of experience in cocoa and agricultural production worldwide and in Vietnam. With donor support from USAID, USDA, the U.S. chocolate industry, and local partners, the SUCCESS Alliance is well on its way to building a new and sustainable smallholder cocoa economy in Vietnam.
Years of operation in Vietnam: 2003
Projects in Vietnam:SUCCESS Alliance
Local Partner(s) in Vietnam:Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) The Vietnam National Cocoa Development Coordinating Committee (VNCDCC) Nong Lam University (NLU) Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Lam Dong province (DARD Lam Dong) Agricultural Extension Center of Dak Lak province (AEC Dak Lak) Center for Applied Technologies of Ben Tre province (CAT Ben Tre) Department of Science and Technology in Tien Giang province (DST Tien Giang) Cargill Vietnam
National staff: 17
Expatriate staff: 0
Budget in USD : 227,000