Haitian Cocoa Cooperative to Receive Recovery Assistance From NCBA and Global Co-op Community
Program to Provide Assistance to Thousands Affected by Disasters
(firmenpresse) - WASHINGTON, DC -- (Marketwire) -- 01/11/12 -- Two years after a devastating earthquake rocked Haiti, one cooperative organization is receiving support through a program funded by cooperatives around the globe. Several natural disasters, including the January 2010 earthquake, have dramatically affected Haiti's agricultural production, which contributes 25 percent of gross domestic product in the country. The program will provide post-disaster business support to the Federation of Cocoa Cooperatives in Northern Haiti (FECCANO). Through technical and business assistance, the National Cooperative Business Association's CLUSA International program will assist FECCANO in improving its cocoa processing capacity, strengthening its governance and management capacity and establishing relationships with similar cooperative organizations.
In addition to contributing one quarter of the country's GDP, agriculture accounts for 50 percent of Haiti's overall employment. In the 1980s and '90s, Haiti produced significant amounts of export quality coffee and cocoa, primarily from the northern watershed regions. FECCANO's member cooperatives grow cocoa across two major watersheds. Hillside tree production is important not only for farmer livelihoods but also for stabilizing the hillsides during the hurricane and rainy seasons. With successive disasters, the cocoa producers have suffered from loss of trees, destabilized soils, mudslides and diaspora. One of the hardest hit areas is the northern watershed where cocoa production occurs by producer cooperatives that belong to the cocoa federation FECCANO.
"Cocoa remains a high-value and high-potential crop that can make a significant contribution to the lives and livelihoods of the members of the Federation of Cocoa Cooperatives and their families," said Amy Coughenour Betancourt, vice president of the CLUSA International program. "Especially in the International Year of Cooperatives, this program demonstrates the solidarity of the international cooperative community in rallying to provide business and technical assistance to support long-term recovery of the Federation," she continued.
The program, funded through an agreement between the International Co-operative Alliance and NCBA, provides $298,143 to support Federation members affected by a steady decline in on-farm productivity and increasing isolation and lack of access to financial resources. This 18-month program will bring long-term benefits to the 2,500 members of the Federation and their families -- an estimated total of some 10,000 people. The program is one of two funded by ICA to support the long-term recovery of cooperatives in Haiti.
"The global cooperative community began donating funds to support Haitian cooperatives immediately after the devastating 2010 earthquake," said Charles Gould, director-general of the ICA. "Almost $600,000 was donated to the ICA's appeal. The ICA Board determined that supporting long-term agricultural recovery that emphasizes business and cooperative management will bring sustainable benefits to the Federation and its members. NCBA's CLUSA International program provided an ideal vehicle to deliver half of this aid," he continued.
The United Nations has designated 2012 as the International Year of Cooperatives because of the social and economic benefits cooperatives provide to communities. Cooperatives are values-based, businesses owned and controlled by those that use the cooperative's services. Cooperatives are a major economic force in developed countries and a powerful business model in developing ones. Worldwide, over 1 billion people are members of cooperatives. The economic activity of the largest 300 cooperatives in the world equals the 9th largest national economy.
Founded in 1916, the National Cooperative Business Association is the national voice for cooperative enterprise in the United States and has a mission to develop, advance and protect cooperative business. NCBA provides a strong, unified voice on Capitol Hill and diligently works with lawmakers to enact legislation that supports the development and growth of cooperatives. NCBA's comprehensive programs help co-ops strengthen their businesses so they can better serve their members and transform the global economy. NCBA also creates connections across all sectors of the nation's more than 29,000 cooperative businesses, including agriculture, food distribution and retailing, childcare, credit unions, purchasing, worker-owned, housing, healthcare, energy and telecommunications cooperatives. NCBA's CLUSA International Program has helped develop cooperatives and other sustainable businesses in over 100 countries since 1953. CLUSA currently implements 23 projects in 10 countries. In the 2012, cooperatives around the world will celebrate the International Year of Cooperatives. Cooperative enterprises build a better world. To learn more about NCBA, please visit . To learn more about the US observance of the International Year of Cooperatives, visit .
The International Co-operative Alliance is the global voice for the values-based business model of the cooperative, uniting cooperatives worldwide and providing a forum for knowledge and concerted action. ICA was established by cooperatives in 1895. It has members in almost 100 countries representing one billion people worldwide. To learn more about ICA and the global observance of the International Year of Cooperatives, visit .
CONTACT:
Andrea Cumpston
202-383-5447
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Datum: 11.01.2012 - 14:18 Uhr
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