Liberia
Under LIFE Phase II, ACDI/VOCA established an office in Zwedru and deployed eight field facilitators to three new counties: Grand Gedeh, River Gee and Gbarpolu.

Other activities included

• 164 smallholder cocoa farmers participated in LIFE II introductory meetings in Grand Gedeh and River Gee counties.
• 500 smallholder cocoa farmers involved in crop diversification, including 150 women, participated in Farming as a Business refresher training.
• 267 members from four value savings and loan clubs generated $1,119. $433 were shared among members, $106 were used as social funds and $580 were loaned to members.

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Ecuador
ACDI/VOCA signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Peace Corps to strengthen collaboration.

ACDI/VOCA is working with private sector partners and the Government of Ecuador to explore opportunities to continue assisting farmers in Guayas and Los Rios provinces.

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Vietnam
ACDI/VOCA and the Ben Tre Cocoa Quality Laboratory organized a hands-on training for five staff of Café Control, which manages a cocoa quality laboratory in the Central Highlands. The training event covered technical skills for preparing cocoa liquor for the sensory test and identifying cocoa attributes. Participants also discussed cocoa quality analysis and evaluation.

ACDI/VOCA and the Agriculture Extension Center organized a workshop for 50 participants in Dak Lak on enhancing the capacity of nursery owners. Presentations were given by representatives of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and by the Western Agriculture Science Institute.

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