How we work

Half of the world’s population is employed in the agricultural sector, with 75% of all farmers estimated to be living in poverty. Over 800 million people suffer hunger, two billion experience micronutrients deficiencies.

Sustainable agricultural systems

Current systems of agricultural production are neither sustainable nor sufficiently efficient to ensure food and nutrition security for present and future generations. ICCO strives to put value chains in place to grow, harvest, store, process, pack, transport, market and consume food, as well as to dispose food waste.

We trigger positive changes in markets to transform agricultural systems. Markets that are inclusive, and accessible for smallholders farmers, agripreneurs and small businesses, as well as environmentally and financially sustainable. We want to ensure the viability of small-farm and business economies as a contribution to the fight against poverty and undernourishment.

How we stand out

This systemic change demands for a long breath and a multi-stakeholder approach. We adopt inclusive social change, and enhance a business-oriented way of working.

Key points in our strategy are:

• Targeting small and medium enterprises
• Focus on women
• Fulfillment of different roles: developer, implementer, advocate
• Use of digital technologies to underpin impact
• Application of a tailored mix of financial instruments
• Cooperation in public-private partnerships
• Understanding the impact of religion on development

Program interventions

In concrete our program interventions focus on:

• Farmer training
• Access to agricultural inputs
• Access to finance
• Access to technology
• Access to markets
• Business and human rights
• Collective marketing

• What we do

  As part of Cordaid, ICCO contributes to strengthen sustainable agricultural systems to 3 interlinked goals.

  1. Food and nutrition security

  We strengthen the capacities of individual households to produce sufficient food, while also earning an income from farming.

  2. Economic empowerment

  We support poor farmers and producer organizations to seize economic opportunities to improve and sustain farmers’ livelihoods.

  3. Emergency response

  We create resilient communities that are adequately prepared for, and can effectively respond to disasters.

• Structure

  Because of the integration with Cordaid, the ICCO organization is now part of Cordaid as of on 1 January 2021. A new Board of Directors and Supervisory Board have been formed. Go here to the organization page of Cordaid.

  Fair & Sustainable Consulting and FairClimateFund, the companies under the ICCO Group B.V., have been transferred to Cordaid. Cordaid is now the sole shareholder of the ICCO Group:

Our story

Originally, the meaning of the acronym ICCO is Interkerkelijk Coördinatie Commissie Ontwikkelingshulp (= Interchurch Coordination Committee Development Aid). Nowadays ICCO is a name in itself.

The founder of ICCO was Jo Verkuyl. He worked as a missionary preacher in Indonesia, a man with an unconventional approach to aid in developing countries. As one of the very few in his time, Verkuyl believed that development work should be focused on the needs of the poor. He was convinced that all changes start at community level.

Compassion, justice and stewardship: these were the three values on which founding Verkuyl, protestant churches and Dutch civil society organizations established ICCO in 1964 on December 30th. These values guide us to this day.