Winrock International Explained

Winrock International is a nonprofit organization whose stated mission is to increase economic opportunity, sustain natural resources, and protect the environment.^[1] Based in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Washington, D.C., Winrock is named for Winthrop Rockefeller, who served as the 37th governor of Arkansas.^{[2] [3]}

History

In 1953, Winthrop Rockefeller founded Winrock Enterprises and Winrock Farms in Morrilton, Arkansas.^[4] Winrock Farms served as a model facility to test and demonstrate agricultural practices that other farmers could emulate.^[5] After his death, Rockefeller's trustees created the Winrock International Livestock Research and Training Center. In 1985, the center merged with two other Rockefeller organizations—the Agricultural Development Council (founded by John D. Rockefeller III) and the International Agricultural Development Service (founded by the Rockefeller Foundation).^{[6] [7] [8]} The newly merged organization became known as Winrock International.^[9]

Initiatives

Winrock's projects are focused on four main areas: agriculture,^[10] economic development,^{[11] [12]} energy and environment,^{[13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18]} and human and social capital.^{[19] [20]} More than 95% of the organization's funding comes from the U.S. government, primarily the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Winrock initiatives include:

• The American Carbon Registry, the first private, voluntary greenhouse-gas registry.^{[21] [22]}
• The Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub, a makerspace that provides facilities, technology, support and equipment for entrepreneurs, artists and makers.^{[23] [24]}
• Farmer-to-Farmer, a USAID-funded program that sends American agricultural experts to the developing world to provide technical assistance to farmers, agribusinesses, and other groups involved with food production.^{[25] [26] [27]}
• Innovate Arkansas, a project funded by the Arkansas Economic Development Commission that helps the state's technology entrepreneurs move from the startup phase to commercial viability.^{[28] [29]}
• Wallace Center, which was founded in 1983 as the Institute for Alternative Agriculture. Today, the Wallace Center (now named for former Secretary of Agriculture, Henry A. Wallace) brings together diverse people and ideas to co-create solutions that build healthy farms, equitable economies, and resilient food systems. The organization strives to remain a power-shifting intermediary, stepping in where there’s an invitation to serve, and urging others toward a more diverse and connected food system where sustainable farming is vibrant and thriving.^[30]

In 1995, Winrock's Forestry and Natural Resource Management Program absorbed the Nitrogen Fixing Tree Association (NFTA), formed in 1981, and renamed it the Forest, Farm, and Community Tree Network (FACT Net) in 1996; though FACT Net ceased operation at the end of 1999, all material is maintained online by the Forestry and Natural Resource Management Program, including clarifications and errata of FACT sheets issued prior to closing of FACT Net.^[31]

External links

• Official website

Notes and References

1. Web site: Laurie . Mary . Winrock International - Encyclopedia of Arkansas . The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture . The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture . July 26, 2018.
2. Web site: Kirk . John . The life of Winthrop Rockefeller . Arkansas Times . 26 January 2017 . Arkansas Times . August 3, 2018.
3. Walsh . John . Nonprofits That Cultivate Development Are Merging . Science . 1984 . 226 . 4677 . 952 . Science Magazine . 10.1126/science.226.4677.952.a . 17737342 . 239814990 . August 8, 2018.
4. Web site: Higgins . Donald . Petit Jean Mountain . The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture . The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture . August 8, 2018.
5. Web site: Payne . Cassie . Winrock Farms: At home in Arkansas . Progressive Cattleman . Progressive Cattleman . July 31, 2018.
6. Web site: Sterling Wortman . Rockefeller Foundation . Rockefeller Foundation . July 31, 2018.
7. News: Daniels . Lee . Arthur Mosher, 82, International Expert On Agricultural Aid . The New York Times . 30 September 1992 . July 31, 2018.
8. Web site: Griffith . Susan . Wharton, Jr., Clifton Reginald (1926-) . BlackPast.org . 12 March 2012 . BlackPast.org . July 31, 2018.
9. Web site: Farmer-to-Farmer International Leader . Arkansas Times . Arkansas Times .
10. Web site: Mendoza . Naki . Myanmar's journey to specialty coffee and its lessons for smallholder farmers . Devex . Devex . July 24, 2018.
11. Web site: Menur . Ansia . Smart Fish Feeder eFishery Enters Bangladesh and Thailand, Secured 300 Users in Indonesia . Yahoo.com . Yahoo News . July 31, 2018.
12. Web site: Feed the Future Through USAID and Winrock International Launch Innovation Challenge to Bring New Technologies to Smallholder Farmers . USAID . USAID . July 24, 2018.
13. Web site: Rogers . Kelli . Winrock connects the dots between illegal logging and climate change . Devex . Devex . July 31, 2018.
14. Web site: Second Renewable Energy Stakeholder Forum . USAID . USAID . July 26, 2018.
15. Web site: Jain . Neha . Deforestation vs. Degradation: How we underestimate tropical forest greenhouse gas emissions . Mongabay . 2 March 2017 . Mongabay . July 24, 2018.
16. Web site: Rogers . Kelli . Development actors bet on political power shift to save Cambodia's forgotten forest . Devex . Devex . July 26, 2018.
17. Web site: Warren . Chris . Water from the Sun: Solar-Powered Water Pumps Offer African Farmers a Way Out of Poverty . Green Tech Media . Green Tech Media . July 26, 2018.
18. Web site: Warren . Chris . In Nigeria, a Template for Solar-Powered Minigrids Emerges . Green Tech Media . Green Tech Media . July 24, 2018.
19. Web site: USAID Announces New Project to Counter Trafficking in Persons in Asia . USAID . USAID . July 24, 2018.
20. News: Chandran . Rina . From Cambodia to India, Job Matching Sites and Mobile Apps Take Aim at Trafficking . Reuters . 22 December 2017 . Reuters . July 23, 2018.
21. Web site: Jared . George . Arkansas Rice Farmers Among the First in the U.S. to Receive Carbon Credits for Sustainable Practices . Talk Business and Politics . 14 June 2017 . Talk Business and Politics . July 26, 2018.
22. News: Bjerga . Alan . How U.S. Rice Farmers Could Slash Their Emissions (and Costs) . Bloomberg.com . 26 April 2017 . Bloomberg . July 26, 2018.
23. Web site: Brown . Jeffery . Who becomes an inventor? This Arkansas innovation hub is trying to spark a new generation . PBS.org . 30 May 2018 . Public Broadcasting Service . July 24, 2018.
24. Web site: Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub: What We Do . arjun.org . Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub.
25. Web site: The John Ogonowski and Doug Bereuter Farmer-to-Farmer Program . USAID.gov . USAID . July 31, 2018.
26. Web site: Marshall . Sam . NC State Extension in Guinea: A Volunteer Experience . NCSU.edu . North Carolina State University . August 1, 2018.
27. Web site: Hehemann . Will . UAPB Extension Specialist Teaches Young Farmers in Bangladesh . uapb.edu . The Commercial.
28. Web site: Brawner . Steve . Winrock International, Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub Merge; Governor Praises the Move . TalkBusiness.net . 16 June 2016 . Talk Business and Politics . July 24, 2018.
29. Web site: Cater . Mark . Innovate Arkansas Helping Build Tech Startup Scene . ArkansasBusiness.com . Arkansas Business . August 3, 2018.
30. Web site: Center . Wallace. About the Wallace Center . wallacecenter.org . Wallace Center . December 5, 2023.
31. News: FACT Net News: Number 3 . September 1999 . Winrock International Forestry and Natural Resource Management Program . 2023-02-28.