The European Cooperative for Rural Development (EUCORD) is a Brussels-based non-profit organization incorporated under Dutch Cooperative Law since 2003. Benefiting from the agricultural expertise of its senior staff and from its network of partners, EUCORD has built a strong and reliable project implementation capacity. EUCORD currently employs more than 60 full-time staff and has project implementation experience in 15 countries.
Our vision is to safeguard a prosperous future for African youth through resilient agricultural value chains, fostering inclusive economic growth.
Our mission is to partner with agri-food stakeholders to future proof rural livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa. We identify market opportunities, develop value-chain driven networks, provide capacity building and introduce climate-smart innovations.
Our vision is to safeguard a prosperous future for African youth through resilient agricultural value chains, fostering inclusive economic growth.
Our mission is to partner with agri-food stakeholders to future proof rural livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa. We identify market opportunities, develop value-chain driven networks, provide capacity building and introduce climate-smart innovations.
Our areas of expertise
Our history
In 2001, co-founders Henk Knipscheer and Hans Megens discussed creating a new NGO which would collaborate with food companies in developing countries to improve rural livelihoods. Two years later, EUCORD registered as a cooperative in the Netherlands and opened its Brussels’ office. The first projects were conducted in Mali with Winrock International and Rabobank Foundation.
In 2006, EUCORD engaged in its first public-private partnership (PPP) project, supporting sorghum value chain development in Ghana and Sierra Leone, a project funded by the Common Fund for Commodities, Diageo, and HEINEKEN. EUCORD expanded its PPP projects in 2009 working with HEINEKEN in Burundi and the DRC, AGRA in Mali, and USAID in Nigeria. In 2013, EUCORD’s PPP model was fully consolidated as projects in Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone were scaled up thanks to partnerships between the Netherlands Government and HEINEKEN working on barley, maize, and sorghum value chain development.
Since 2016, EUCORD has expanded its project expertise, working on biodiversity and agroforestry projects with USAID/Tetra Tech in Guinea and nutrition and inventory credit with the Achmea Foundation in Mali. EUCORD has supported over 1 million farmers in 12 countries, linking them to markets and driving rural development.
Institutional partners
EUCORD is a cooperative structure, working with institutional and associate members to bring market-led solutions to the rural poor.
EUCORD’s employees are its institutional members: they have a seat on the supervisory board as well as the member council and have a say in EUCORD’s strategic development.
Associate members are partner non-profit organizations from the countries where we work. They are project implementation partners and participate in project opportunities that EUCORD pursues. In addition, EUCORD is committed to supporting the capacity development of its associate members.