The Asia-Pacific Rural and Agricultural Credit Association (APRACA) was one of the four NEDAC Rural Voice awardees for 2021. Kailash Choudhary, Union Minister of State (MoS) for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, presented the inaugural edition of the awards at the Rural Voice Agriculture Conclave in New Delhi on December 23, 2021.
APRACA is the organization on rural and agricultural finance that helps promote productivity, inclusive growth, self-reliance, and welfare of the rural poor in the Asia-Pacific region.
It was established under the auspices of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The first General Assembly meeting of APRACA was held in New Delhi on 14 October 1977 in conjunction with the third FAO-Asian Conference on ‘Agricultural Credit and Cooperatives’.
The APRACA secretariat is located in Bangkok that supports its 87 systemically important member institutions in 24 countries of the region. APRACA is also engaged with international agencies like FAO, IFAD, UNCDF, World Bank and other development agencies/organizations to implement social capital formation for the vulnerable communities in the region.
The NEDAC-Rural Voice awards have been instituted jointly by the Network for the Development of Agricultural Cooperatives in Asia and the Pacific (NEDAC) and Rural Voice to recognize excellence in the field of agriculture, rural affairs and cooperatives.