The Agricultural Co- operative Staff Training Institute (ACSTI) was established by the Kerala State Co-operative Bank in the year 1992. It envisages conducting training for the three tier cooperative structure. Trainings are given to personnel and directors of the entire Co-operative short-term Credit Structure comprising State Co-operative Bank, District Co-operative Banks, Urban Co-operative Banks and Service Co-operative Banks. The core areas of training include Organisation Development, Finance Management, Development Action Plan, Financing Farm and Non-Farm Sector, Micro Finance, Project Finance and Human Resource Development.

The Institute has been accorded autonomous status by the Government of Kerala. The autonomous status was formally declared by the Honorable Chief Minister of Kerala on 30th November 2018. The Institute is registered under Travancore-Cochin Literary, Scientific and Charitable Societies Act 1955. The governance structure of the Institute consists of General Council, Executive Committee and Training Advisory Committee. The General Council is headed by the Honourable Minister for Co-operation involving all stakeholders such as NABARD, Registrar of Co-operative Societies, Director of Co-operative Audit, Kerala State Co-operative Bank (KSCB), District Co-operative Banks (DCBs), Primary Agricultural Credit Societies, Academicians and Training Institutes. The Executive Committee is headed by the Secretary, Co-operation comprising of NABARD, RCS, Managing Director KSCB, and Director CAPE.

The training programmes are designed to meet the present day challenges faced by the Co-operative sector in general. ACSTI Thiruvananthapuram has received accreditation from the Center for Professional Excellence in Co-operatives (C-PEC) Lucknow, a national level Accreditation Centre for Co-operatives under National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).