International Development Programs Fact Sheet

Organized in 1916 as the Cooperative League of the USA (CLUSA), and now doing business as the National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA), we are still recognized in many countries under the CLUSA name. NCBA/CLUSA's assistance to developing countries began in India in 1953. Since then, we have managed 105 long-term projects in 40 countries and performed short-term assignments, including project analysis, feasibility and design, in an additional 28 countries.

NCBA/CLUSA currently works with 15 projects overseas. 12 are managed by NCBA and we work as subcontractors in 3 others. Typically, our projects have from one to three expatriate advisors, a locally hired and trained staff of 20-50 and operate for three to five years. NCBA's international development grants and contracts were approximately $12 million in 1999. NCBA is currently working with projects in the following countries:

NCBA's overseas projects include training, management and technical advice for:

• rural farmer associations, village organizations and cooperatives producing and marketing fruits, vegetables and cereal grains, purchasing agricultural inputs, and undertaking other types of income generating activities, for example, cooperative consumer stores, pharmacies, reforestation, etc.;

• cooperatives which export traditional and non-traditional products to the U.S., Europe and Japan to raise incomes and diversify employment opportunities for members;

• rural and urban community development organizations providing small-scale credit and training to entrepreneurs and micro-businesses; and

• community managed service providers, including village-level health programs and community managed natural resources

NCBA's methodology consists of recruiting and training host country trainers; establishing intensive community-based training by field staff; making functional literacy/numeracy an integral component of cooperative management training; obtaining direct access for cooperatives to reliable sources of credit; accessing needed information and technology; and institutionalizing the cooperative development capability of the country and regions to implement the development of viable private member-owned businesses.