Podcasts about winrock international

Send us a Text Message.Back from spring break finally!In this episode, Joe Schafer from Winrock International and Kelly Cartwright from the Natural Soy and Grain Alliance join us to talk about the challenges of organic row crop corn and soybean production in Arkansas and what they are doing to support farmers.  This episode kicks off a series as we deep dive into their findings from an agronomic and economic standpoint.  Project Details from Winrock InternationalProject Details from Natural Soybean and Grain AllianceFind us online atArkansasOrganic.orgCenter for Arkansas Farms and FoodYouTube

Chyka Okarter talks about farming an Extension work in Nigeria, putting the lean farming concept into practice, and finding creative financing from within the food system. Hear about what agriculture looks like in Nigeria—a pursuit with huge potential that Chyka feels is not being met in this country that's slightly larger than Texas. He talks about growing up in a farming family and wanting to go into agriculture to help farmers work more efficiently. Learn about the Feed the Future Program, USAID, and Winrock International's work in bridging the gap between Extension and small-scale farmers where there is one Extension agent to 10,000 farmers. Chyka's work is to train the trainers working with micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) cohorts to implement the lean principles in farm business approach. They wanted to try using the lean approach rather than the traditional Good Agronomic Practices approach, which can lead to information overload. Hear two examples—in aquaculture and in crop production—of how the six steps of the lean approach have led to big wins for farmers and the whole food chain. (Spoiler alert: One discovery changed the catfish mortality rate from 50%+ to 0% with this approach, and another is leading farmers to more precise organic fertilizer use.) Finally, listen in on how farmers in Nigeria—a country in economic crisis—are working within the food system for an innovative financing model involving input credits.  Learn more about Chyka Okarter's work: Winrock International Email Chyka

SummaryJoin host James Bell in the final episode of a special four-part series of The Bentonville Beacon podcast, featuring live-recorded conversations at the 2023 Northwest Arkansas Technology Summit with the thinkers and doers shaping the future of global tech in Bentonville. The NWA Tech Summit is the Heartland's premier technology conference and serves to enhance, prepare and diversify the Northwest Arkansas economy. Now in its tenth year, the event is hosted by the Greater Bentonville Area Chamber of Commerce and is supported by nearly 100 partners, including the Walton Family Foundation, Walmart, Sam's Club, Verizon, Salesforce, T-Mobile for Business, Zebra, Scott Family Amazeum and Arvest. These episodes bring together voices from the event to share their company's stories, personal insights and unique #BecauseBentonville moments that define the community's character. Tune in as we explore the innovations and experiences that are fostering a culture where technology meets the essence of Bentonville and Northwest Arkansas!Show Notes(1:12) Introducing Ranu Jung and I³R(7:12) Ranu's Ernst & Young Innovator of the Year Award(8:48) Ranu's #BecauseBentonville Story( 11:49) Introducing Justin Urso and the Walton College Master of Science in Product Innovation(13:28) About the McMillon Innovation Studio(16:59) Justin's Northwest Arkansas Technology Summit Experiences(18:17) Justin's #BecauseBentonville Story(21:10) Introducing Randy Wilburn(24:15) Randy's Northwest Arkansas Tech Summit Experience(26:18) Randy's #BecauseBentonville Story(31:29) Introducing to Jack Short and the Greater Bentonville Area Chamber of Commerce(34:56) Jack's NWA Technology Summit Experience(35:38) Jack's #BecauseBentonville Story(38:53) Introducing Katie Thompson and Science Venture Studio at Winrock International(47:11) Katie's NWA Tech Summit Experience(50:01) Katie's #BecauseBentonville Story(53:59) Closing ThoughtsLinksJames BellBentonville Economic Development Northwest Arkansas Technology SummitRanu JungInstitute for Integrative & Innovative Research (I³R) at University of ArkansasUniversity of ArkansasJustin UrsoMcMillon Innovation Studio at University of ArkansasMaster of Science in Product Innovation (MSPI) at University of ArkansasBig Box KaraokeConcord AdamsRandy WilburnONBoardNWAI am Northwest ArkansasJack ShortGreater Bentonville Area Chamber of CommerceKatie ThompsonScience Venture Studio at Winrock InternationalQuotes“You walk into this place, Northwest Arkansas, and what do you see on The Momentary shouting out in pink? You belong here. This place has a unique situation. Think of it like a baby and a toddler growing up, and excitement of people coming together and all sectors, right? There is the private industry. There's the philanthropic organizations. There is an entrepreneurial spirit. What did I hear, thirty-six people a day coming into this place. Only in [Bentonville and NWA] can you think about a future where people say, ‘Are you crazy that you're going to be able to deploy solutions?' It's like, no, we are not because we are together. We have the ability in this place, unlike many other places, to not only think of solutions, not only produce solutions, not only deliver them, but actually deploy them and be able to move them at scale. So converge and together find the solutions and then distribute an impact at scale and really globally ultimately.” - Ranu Jung, (8:52)“[The Northwest Arkansas Technology Summit] has been incredible. The biggest thing about all of this is just seeing the growth in the community, the industry, and the tech leaders' companies that are not from this area coming here to be part of this.” - Justin Urso, (17:00)“I think only in Bentonville can you go to a building and ride into that building on your bike, ride around that building and experience what it's like for a cyclist to be able to commute to work and commute to a building that's actually built for them. And that's the beauty…I have a space at the Ledger. I can ride my bike to work and park it almost basically at my office, and it is perfectly suited and set up for the environment that we're trying to create in Northwest Arkansas of more people on bikes using alternative transportation and providing them with the necessary resources so that they can really take advantage of that.” - Randy Wilburn, (26:19)“I would tell them that what they're experiencing in Northwest Arkansas is the future of what the United States is going to be like. Because I do believe we're setting a new standard for what things can be like from a diversity perspective, from an employment perspective, from a jobs creation perspective and from an education perspective.” - Randy Wilburn, (30:16)“The Greater Bentonville Area specifically is Bentonville, Centerton, Pea Ridge and Bella Vista, and that is our framework of who we encompass as the Greater Bentonville Area Chamber of Commerce. But the chamber membership itself, our member base, it's international, it's global. We got people from all across the world who are members with us, and it just makes for a very fantastic experience as a chamber member.” - Jack Short, (34:00)“[In Bentonville] there's so many opportunities for my kids to explore their creativity and explore the environment and stuff. I mean the Amazeum is one of the places that we love to go to, but now my kids are getting older and they want to go see the artwork and go to Crystal Bridges…I didn't get those experiences growing up because I grew up in a very, very small town, but I'm able to share those experiences, and get to experience it myself but also see my kids experience them, and I hope that it's given them some inspiration to be whoever they want to be.” - Katie Thompson, (50:29)

Indiana farmer and The Lean Micro Farm author Ben Hartman talks about the logistics of downsizing.  Hear about the CSA Ben started while still in high school and how this set him up for a career in farming. Ben shares the statistics that, by the end of this century, we will lose half of the farms that we have now, and the farms that are left will be twice as large. Statistics like this make him believe even more strongly that farmers need to increase their money-making potential. “We were really bad farmers,” Ben says about his and his wife, Rachel Hershberger's, Clay Bottom Farm. Listen to his story of farming 5 acres on a growth trajectory, then changing course to start downsizing instead—and now farming just 1/3 acre and making the same amount of money. You'll hear Ben's step-by-step entry into the principles of the lean manufacturing system, including examining and getting rid of the seven forms of waste, designing a farm business that achieves specific goals, using the 80/20 principle to identify both customers and products, and more. Also learn a couple of lean concepts for managing workforce and the 5 S organizing system. (This will change how you use and store your farming tools!) Also get to know the work Ben has done with Winrock International's USAID farmer-first lean-farming project in Nigeria and his teaching and training work for farmers everywhere. Clay Bottom Farm website The Lean Micro Farm

Welcome to a special episode of the BusinessMirror Broader Look podcast where we focus on the celebration of World Food Safety Day on June 7, 2023. This year's celebration of World Food Safety Day carries the theme “Food standards save lives.” Today's episode features a conversation between BusinessMirror Reporter Jasper Emmanuel Arcalas and Ziggy Felongco, the Food Safety Risk Assessment Specialist of Winrock International, in celebration of the World Food Safety Day. The Broader Look podcast is produced by T. Anthony C. Cabangon, publisher of the BusinessMirror.

Ellie Valentine knows what it's like to be an outsider in a position of leadership. Having led parliamentary strengthening programs around the world, she now works with Winrock International helping governments, NGOs and the private sector in Central Asia to prevent human trafficking and promote safe migration. Often operating in contexts where her role as a female leader is novel, she builds trust and credibility by starting from a position of respect for the cultural and historical environment. Listening is imperative, she says, for brainstorming ideas, deliberating outcomes and building partnerships with local counterparts to determine their needs for capacity strengthening, education, resources and tools.

In this first episode of Food Safety Fridays, Dennis Estopace talked to Ziggy Felongco of Winrock International to discuss basic concepts and importance of food safety. Did you know that tapioca pearls in your beloved milk tea or bubble tea are considered safety hazards in some countries? Find out more in this podcast! Catch new episodes of the Food Safety Fridays series every last Friday of the month! Music by OYStudio from Pixabay

Jeni Sorensen Jeni Sorensen is a human trafficking specialist with 20 years of experience designing, managing, and evaluating programs to combat human trafficking in the U.S. and around the world. Ms. Sorensen currently serves as Director of International Poverty Action's Human Trafficking Research Initiative, which fosters partnerships between researchers and program implementers to build and carry out rigorous research studies. Previously, Ms. Sorensen served as Director of Winrock International's Human Trafficking and Safe Migration programs, where she oversaw a $70 million portfolio of counter-trafficking programs in Asia and Latin America. Ms. Sorensen holds a BA from the University of Texas at Austin and an MPP from Georgetown University. Resources IPA's Human Trafficking Research Initiative CART Principles The Goldilocks Challenge: Right-Fit Evidence for the Social Sector by Mary Kay Gugerty and Dean Karlan 2022 Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage Report 2022 Trafficking in Persons Report | U.S. Department of State Seafood Watch | Monterrey Bay Aquarium Sweat & Toil (mobile phone app) | U.S. Department of Labor

Garth Youngberg's work has had a large impact on the agricultural industry, leading farmers to reexamine conventional agricultural practices and explore alternative approaches. This week, Ron interviews Garth, the founder and director of the Henry A. Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture located in Greenbelt, Maryland. He directed the Institute since its formation in 1983. The Institute joined Winrock International in 2000. He received undergraduate and graduate degrees from Western Illinois University, and a Ph.D. degree from the University of Illinois (1971) in political science, with an emphasis in agriculture policy and administration. Garth began his career in education, which included teaching and research positions at Iowa State University and Southwest Missouri State University. In 1979, he joined the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Science and Education Administration, where he served from 1980-82 as USDA's Organic Farming Coordinator. The author of numerous publications on agricultural policy, he co-authored the landmark 1980 USDA study, "Report and Recommendations on Organic Farming." He was editor of the Wallace Institute's peer-reviewed American Journal of Alternative Agriculture from its inception in 1985 until 2000. In 1988, Dr. Youngberg received a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship Award, the first awarded in agriculture. He retired in 2003. In 2013, Garth co-authored (with Suzanne DeMuth) "Organic Agriculture in the United States: A 30-Year Retrospective," in Renewable Agriculture & Food Systems. The interview was conducted on Dec. 6, 2016. Additional links this episode: National Sustainable Agriculture Oral History Archive Practical Farmers of Iowa “A Time to Choose: Summary Report on the Structure of Agriculture,” 1981 Garth's Wikipedia Page Garth in the USDA National Agricultural Library -------- Liked this show? SUBSCRIBE to this podcast on Spotify, Apple, Audible, Google, and more. Catch past episodes, a transcript, and show notes at cfra.org/SustainbleAgPodcast.

David Sanders, Director of Innovate Arkansas (IA) at Winrock, interviews Edwin Ortiz, founder and CEO of Rejoicy, a platform where bakers, makers, movers and shakers can set up an e-commerce site in less than 10 minutes. David and Edwin talk about the early pivots in the business, the company's participation in TechStars, and the SellNWA program they launched with Winrock International. Learn more about Rejoicy here: https://home.rejoicy.com/ 

In this week's episode, I chat with Dr Juli-Anne Russo! An Aquaculture Scientist specialising in aquaculture biosecurity and nutrition for aquatic animals. She was an aquaculture Consultant for the Food and Agriculture Organisation of United Nations (FAO) in the Aquaculture branch, and has also consulted for USAID, IDB and Compete the Caribbean. She volunteers with USAID, Farmer to Farmer and Winrock International to provide technical services to fish farmers in developing countries. Her interests are capacity building for fish farmers, women in aquaculture, aquaculture biosecurity, environmental sustainability and rural development. She is currently developing and delivering presentations on aquaculture production, fish health, biosecurity and disease prevention of cultured aquatic species to farmers in the Caribbean. Together we take a deep dive into Aquaculture in the Jamaica and the potential it has to grow as a sector across the region. To learn more about Dr Juli-Ann be sure to visit her website.

The inconveniences from COVID-19 may pale in comparison as to what climate change may have in store for us all.  Rising temperatures, rising seas, burning forests, and drying rivers aren't just likely - they're guaranteed according to the 2021 IPCC report.  Clearly this will impact development both in terms of how projects are carried out, and how international development is taught and carried out.   David Bonnardeaux is Pact's director of the environment.  Overseeing a wide ranging portfolio of environmentally focused projects, David shares his thoughts about how to create positive environmental outcomes from community-based projects. Dr. Huish published an article earlier this year saying that International Development Studies would need to have a big re-think going forward.  Together, they offer a conversation that treads on terrifying while searching  for positive adaptation strategies.   David is a seasoned environment and natural resource management practitioner with over 15 years of experience. He has worked and lived across the globe, from Malawi, Ghana, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe, to Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand, Mexico and Peru. He has worked and consulted for the World Bank, World Wildlife Fund, Conservation International, Winrock International, USAID/Ghana, SGS Environment, Development Alternatives Inc. and McKinsey Social Initiative. At an earlier stage in his life, he consulted for the BBC Natural History Unit on a number of wildlife documentaries including The Life of Mammals and Andes to Amazon working alongside Sir David Attenborough in Costa Rica, Venezuela and Ecuador. He is an avid photographer with a focus on landscapes, portraits, nature and photojournalism, with his photos published in World Bank, USAID, Conservation International, Survival Quarterly and Roll Call publications, and featured in the Wildlife Heroes book. Check out PACT Follow Dr. Bob on Twitter:  @ProfessorHuish

Today's guest, Dr. Robert Paarlberg, is the author of a provocative new book entitled: Resetting the Table: Straight Talk About the Food We Grow and Eat. The book is presented as a clear-eye, science-based corrective, to misinformation about our food: how it's produced, food companies, nutrition labeling, ethical treatment of animals, the environmental impact of agriculture, and even more.   Interview Summary   So Robert, The New York Times praised your book for - and I quote here - "Throwing cold water on progressive and conservative views alike." What an accomplishment that is, and with an intro like that I can't wait to talk to you today, so thanks so much for joining us. So let's begin here, your new book highlights a number of dietary health shortcomings in America but you say these do not come from our farms or from farm subsidies. Can you explain, where do they come from?   Clearly we have a dietary health crisis. Only 1 in 10 Americans is getting the fruits and vegetables recommended and meanwhile we're eating far too many ultra-processed foods with added sugar, salt, and fat, which is why 42% of adults are now clinically obese. I mean, that's three times the level of the 1960's and one result is approximately 300,000 deaths a year linked to diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancers. Now, some food system critics have tried to trace these problems back to the foods grown on our farms. That is, not enough fruits and vegetables and too much corn and soybeans and farmers in America do produce a lot of corn and soybeans but stop and think, nearly 60% of the soybeans are exported. So they never enter our food supply and more than a third of the corn is used to produce auto fuel. So, that's out of our food supply as well. And we've used imports to make an abundance of fruit and vegetables, available in the marketplace. Half of our fruit is imported, one third of our vegetables are imported, often, off season when it's too cold to grow these things in North America. Thanks to these imports, the per capita availability of fruit in the market today is 40% above the 1970 level and the per capita availability of vegetables is 20% above 1970. Actually, per capita, availability of broccoli today, is 13 fold what it was in 1970. So, what our farmers grow, is not the same thing as what consumers eat and very quickly, as for farm subsidies, they're often criticized for making unhealthy foods, artificially cheap but they actually do just the opposite. We have to remember the purpose of farm subsidies is to increase the income of farmers and that is best done, it's usually done, by making farm commodities artificially expensive, not artificially cheap. Farm programs make sugar, artificially expensive by keeping foreign sugar out of our domestic market, raising the domestic price by about 64%. We make wheat and wheat flour and bread artificially expensive, through a conservation reserve program that pays wheat farmers to keep their land in western Kansas idle for 10 years. And we make corn artificially expensive. It's said, that we're living with a plague of cheap corn, but it's just not true. We have a renewable fuel standard, that takes a third of total corn production out of the food market, for uses, auto fuel, and that drives up the price of soybeans as well because soybeans and corn are grown on the same land.   So back to the question then, if the dietary problems don't come from the things that you just mentioned and you make an interesting case there, where do they come from?   I put a lot of blame on food manufacturing companies, on retailers and on restaurant chains. These are the companies that take, mostly healthful commodities, grown on America's farms and ultra process them, add sugar, add salt, add fat, turn them into, virtually addictive, craveable products and then they surround us with them, all day long and they advertise them heavily, including to children. I believe we are drowning in a swamp of unhealthy foods, produced not on our farms, but downstream from farms by these food companies. Now the food companies say, "Oh, well, unhealthy eating, we're not responsible. It's an individual eater's responsibility, to decide what he or she puts in his mouth." But I don't buy that. I mentioned that obesity rates in the United States today, are three times the level of the 1960s. It simply isn't true, it can't be true, that American eaters are three times as irresponsible, as they were in the 1960's.   Companies can't be blamed, I don't suppose, for trying to maximize sales of their products and trying to maximize their desirability. How does it become a problem with the food industry though?   If a shoe company sells us too many shoes that we don't need or a toy company sells us toys we don't need or an auto company sells us a fancy auto with features we don't really need, that doesn't become a public health crisis, but when food companies make products that are almost impossible for most consumers to resist, if they consume them then, in excess and it does become a public health crisis, that's a different sort of problem. In a way, I don't blame the companies because as you noted, they compete fiercely with each other and if anyone were to try to go first to offer product lines, that weren't latent with excess sugar, salt, and fat they would lose market share. These companies actually need the government to step in and provide a common discipline on all of them. Either, in the form of excise taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages or regulations for, at a glance, nutrition guidance labeling on the front of the package or perhaps, restrictions on advertising food to children. If you look at the countries in Europe, 18 European countries have at least one of these policies in place. The continent of Europe has obesity prevalence, only half as high as that of the United States. So here, I think if we can learn something from Europe and use government policy to protect the companies from the kind of damaging competition that they've fallen into.   Given what you said about rates of obesity, it's important for people in many countries of the world to just, eat less food and of course, eating less food creates problems for the industry. So, it seems like, on one hand, the government to say, "Well, listen, why don't you require us all to gradually reduce the sugar in our products or the salt or the fat or whatever, so that we're all on the same playing field." People get calibrated to a lower level of these things and everything will be fine, but everything won't be fine because if those foods become less palatable, people will eat less and the companies will suffer from that. So, my guess is that that's why there's no appetite, if you pardon the pun, from the companies to do this kind of thing and why there's gonna have to be government regulation that overrides the company's political interest or even litigation to help drive this, what do you think?   I'd like to see strong public policies. Whether you call it helping the companies to, avoid their worst instincts and protecting them from damaging competition or imposing on them, a public health obligation to market fewer addictive and unhealthy products. I think, there's a great deal of room for public policy here and no matter what you call it, the companies by themselves, have created a problem that, it's unlikely they will solve, by themselves. In my book, I look at a food service chain, Applebee's, they realized, that their comfort food was not setting a proper health standard for their clientele and they tried to, change their menu, to take the, all you can eat riblets, off the menu and they lost customers. And so they got a new CEO and they went back to the old menu and their profits soared again. Companies sometimes try, they sometimes want to do a better job but in a unrestricted, competitive marketplace it can be suicidal. So, I think we should, in their own interest, as well as in the public health interest, put some restrictions on the marketplace or at least some guidelines   So let's move on to a little bit different topic. So your book questions some popular narratives, including suggestions that there should be more local food to scale up the consumption of organic food or say, to build supermarkets and food deserts.   Well, if you look at them one at a time, you'll see that they probably wouldn't improve our dietary health. If we relocalized, our food system, we would have to replace all those imported fruits and vegetables I mentioned, also seafood. If we tried to, replace those, with locally or at least nationally grown products, it would be possible to do, with enough greenhouses, but it would be very difficult and very expensive for food consumers in Chicago or New York or Boston, in the Northern latitudes, where many food consumers live. So, the price of healthy food would go up in the marketplace and we don't consume very much local food today. Actually, if you look at all of the direct sales from farmer's markets and CSA's and pick your own and roadside stands and farm to table and farm to school, it's only 2% of farm sales. It turns out that, we're not scaling up local. Consumers want more variety, they want more convenience. They want those things year round. I mean, we're actually going in a globalized direction. In 1990, we imported only 10% of the food we consume. Now we're importing 19%. Organic, it's a little bit similar. Currently only 2% of farm sales in America are certified organic products. The number's low because organic rules prevent farmers from using any synthetic nitrogen fertilizers and they're the most important source of productivity in conventional farming. Trying to scale up organic would make healthy food again, more expensive. Organic produce costs, on average, 54% more than conventional produce. If consumers had to pay 54% more for fruits and vegetables, they would buy less and eat less. Now, there are food deserts, where there is a relative shortage of supermarkets but there isn't any good evidence that building a supermarket in a food desert will improve dietary quality. In part, this is because supermarkets sell so many unhealthy foods. The Robert Wood Johnson calculates that only 30% of the packaged products in supermarkets, can be considered healthy. About 90% of the packaged products in supermarkets, are ultra-processed. So, a supermarket is really, a food swamp, surrounded by, a perimeter with some healthy food products and adding those kinds of markets to a poor neighborhood does very little to change a dietary behavior. And it's food swamps that are the problem. And it isn't just corner bodegas and convenience stores that are part of the food swamp. Even pharmacies now, are part of the food swamp. When I go to my CVS to fill a prescription, I have to walk through aisle after aisle of candy, soda, snack foods, junk foods to get to the pharmacy counter. So, I can try to protect my health and spoil my health in a single visit.   Interesting way to look at it. Let's end with this question. So in your book, you have favorable things to say about plant-based imitation meats and you chide the food movement activists for rejecting these new products because they're processed, why do you defend them?   Well I don't defend them on the strictest nutrition ground. An impossible burger or beyond burger isn't much better for you than real beef patty, particularly if you have it with a soft drink and fries, but I defend these products as substitutes for real beef because for environmental reasons, they have a carbon footprint that's 90% smaller than a real hamburger and they use 87% less water, 96% less land and also, risks to human medicine, that come from our current use of antibiotics in livestock production. The problem of antibiotic resistance is a serious threat to human medicine. That problem disappears when the livestock aren't there and also, animal welfare abuse disappears. Now I know food movement activists don't like plant-based meats because they're ultra-processed or because they're patented or corporate or not traditional or artisanal, but these critics have to come up with a better way to reduce our over consumption of animal products, before I'm willing to join them in criticizing plant-based substitutes. I mean, the fashion industry has switched to imitation fur and the shoe industry has switched to imitation leather. So, why shouldn't we allow our food industries to shift to imitation meat?   Bio: ROBERT PAARLBERG is adjunct professor of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and an associate at Harvard's Weatherhead Center. He has been a member of the Board of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the National Research Council, a member of the Board of Directors at Winrock International, and a consultant to the International Food Policy Research Institute, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He is the author of Starved for Science, Food Politics, and The United States of Excess. He lives in Massachusetts.

As the COVID-19 pandemic pushes more shopping online, some brick and mortar stores are struggling to keep up. Now, Winrock International is launching an e-commerce training program for small businesses in Northwest Arkansas.

This week on the podcast, we're joined by the incredible Linsley Kinkade. Linsley is the Senior Director of U.S. Programs for Winrock International. Linsley is also a CDI graduate, a member of our CDI Advisory Board, and a PCED holder. We discuss her incredible professional background and work with Winrock International. Linsley also offers a few tips to current CDI participants.

David Sanders, Director of Innovate Arkansas (IA) at Winrock interviews Rodney Ferguson, President and CEO of Winrock International about the a new initiative called the Validation Fund. The Validation Fund is Arkansas’ first evergreen, not-for-profit fund dedicated to deploying early-stage awards to validation-stage Arkansas startup companies. To learn more about the Validation Fund, visit https://thevalidationfund.org. 

Proof-of-concept funding is often one of the largest barriers entrepreneurs face when attempting to launch a company and access to high value mentors is a critical component of the success of any early-stage company. Winrock International's I-Fund provides both funds for technical assistance and training to enable entrepreneurs to make their ideas, research, and inventions a reality. In this episode, I-Fund Program Manager, Amy Hopper, shares how her team provides a platform for the creation and launch of high-growth companies, spurring economic development, and job creation. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/endeavornorthamerica/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/endeavornorthamerica/support

Amy Hopper is the program officer of the Winrock International's I-Fund, which strives to "provide a platform for the creation and launch of high-growth companies, spurring economic development and job creation (https://www.ifundatwinrock.com/)" in Arkansas. She teaches us what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. (Spoiler Alert: It involves having grit.)Check out our website: https://www.aimingforthemoon.com/

Innovate Arkansas is a state-funded initiative that helps scale promising Arkansas technology ventures. Funded by the Arkansas Economic Development Commission and administered by Winrock International, Innovate Arkansas assists technology entrepreneurs in turning startup companies into viable commercial enterprises. This week on the CDI Podcast, we speak with Innovate Arkansas Program Officer Vicki Malpass. Vicki works directly with startup companies and entrepreneurs in order to ascertain the level of technical assistance required to enable those companies to move toward the ultimate goal of commercialization.

You can't control the price of milk, but you can control how much it costs you to produce it. Dr. Jon Winsten from Winrock International outlines three key metrics to look at when considering a dairy farm's financial viability: feed efficiency, labor efficiency, and capital efficiency. This is part 1 of 3 grazing training installments this month. In two weeks, part 2 will be a podcast episode with organic dairy graziers Thelma Heidel-Baker and Ricky Baker. UPDATE: Part 3 was a Virtual Field Day with Thelma, Ricky, and Jon where we talked about the economics of grazing as well as production, conservation, and more. It is now available on YouTube. Learn more about the Pasture Project. Learn about equity efforts for communities of color in the food system in this Civil Eats story. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/moses-podcast/message

While there are many uses for global data sets and innovative data analysis technologies, the most important thing, Rodolfo Camacho said in this week’s Water Stories podcast, is not analyzing the data. It’s the collaboration among countries sharing data. Camacho, Project Director at Winrock International and Chief of Party for USAID’s Sustainable Water Partnership (SWP), sat down with Lauren Herzer Risi, Project Director of the Environmental Change & Security Program to discuss the importance of big data and machine learning on improving water security. As the leader of the SWP project, Camacho and his team work to provide technical services and assistance to implement global water security programs. Their work covers all aspects of water security, including water for human consumption, to maintain ecosystems, and for production in the agriculture, energy, and industrial sectors. Another essential part of water security, he said, is to build community resilience to water-related risks such as floods and droughts by increasing access to safe water. In order to develop effective water allocation and distribution plans, the team evaluates the status of water resources. Data and analytics help Camacho’s team understand the amount of surface water and ground water available, trends in the quality of the water, and who is using the water in various quantities. Compensating for Gaps in Data Data can also fill the gaps that are often present in developing countries, said Camacho. He noted that data collection can pose a challenge in places where both data and gauging stations are scarce, inconsistent, and unreliable. When actual data is not available, AI technology and machine learning enables Camacho’s team to run models and extrapolate estimates. For example, Camacho described an aspect of SWP’s water allocation project in Kenya and Tanzania. “We have sections in Tanzania in the Mara River,” he said, “where there are no gauging stations.” Therefore, there are no records. Once we understand the water flows by analyzing the data, Camacho said, we can use what we have to calibrate models to establish rainfall patterns. The team can then use modeled quantities and develop better plans for water allocation. Camacho described how data could be used in water allocation and planning. To develop a water allocation plan for the Mara River Basin (Kenya/Tanzania), Camacho and his team must factor in not only how much water is available, but also how much of that is being channeled to population, agriculture, and domestic usages. The Partnership applies data collection and analytics to come up with water planning systems that also take the surrounding ecosystem’s needs into consideration. In the Tonle Sap Basin (Cambodia), the project focused on communities’ access to clean water. Water data and analytics are used to understand water quality and reliability. In nearby agricultural areas, pesticides and other contaminants get into the water supplies. This has a huge impact on the communities that rely on the river for fisheries. “We are not using best practices and that has an effect downstream,” said Camacho. As a result, you get fish die off or contaminated water that cannot be used. Because data is viewed as an important asset to international development and increased water security, a concerted effort has been made to standardize data formats and make global data sets more widely available. New tools are being developed to increase water security and sustainability. Data visualization and forecasting allow information on essential water variables and patterns to be accessed worldwide and then used for disaster and emergency preparedness. Camacho pointed out that these new advances will be useful tools for developing nations where big data is harder to collect. The most significant feature of emerging data technologies, according to Camacho, is these tools’ ability to transcend boundaries and borders and enable cooperation to improve water security.

World Coffee Research predicts that within the next 30 years, the demand for coffee will double while viable land in current coffee-growing countries will diminish by half. How can we combat this?  Through an engaging panel discussion, learn about the future of coffee production in emerging origins such as Myanmar and Nepal and the role consumers, roasters, and importers can play in building long-term, mutually beneficial relationships across culture and distance. Today's panel is moderated by Craig Holt, founder and CEO of Atlas Coffee Importers, and features Marceline Budza of Rebuild Women's Hope Cooperative; Su Su Aung, Managing Director of Ywangan Amayar Company Ltd; April Su Yin Nwet, Senior Private Sector Liaison Advisor at Winrock International; Al Liu, Vice President of Coffee at Colectivo Coffee Roasters; and Mario Fernandez, Technical Director at the Coffee Quality Institute. Special Thanks to Softengine Coffee One, Powered by SAP This episode of the Expo 2019 Lectures podcast is supported by Softengine Coffee One, Powered by SAP.  Built upon SAP's business-leading Enterprise Resource Planning solution, Softengine Coffee One is designed specifically to quickly and easily take your small-to-medium coffee company working at any point along the coffee chain to the next level of success. Learn more about Softengine Coffee One at softengine.com, with special pricing available for SCA Members. Softengine: the most intelligent way to grow your business. Related Links Read a full transcript of this episode on SCA News Listen to other episodes of the SCA Podcast  Learn more about the upcoming 2020 Lecture Series at the Specialty Coffee Expo  Episode Table of Contents 0:00 Introduction 1:50 Craig Holt on the importance of supporting new origins access the specialty coffee market 12:10 April Su Yin Nwet and Su Su Aung on the challenges and opportunities of specialty coffee in Myanmar 21:00 Marcelline Buzda on the challenges and opportunities of specialty coffee in the DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo) 28:35 Mario Fernandez on CQI's work with emerging origins, including Timor-Leste and Nepal  35:20 Al Liu on the retail opportunity of buying coffees from emerging origins  41:35 Audience questions --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/specialty-coffee-association-podcast/message

“If you live in the developed world or in some urban centers, then the supply of water is guaranteed,” said Gordon Mumbo, team leader for Sustainable Water for the Mara River Basin, a project of Winrock International and USAID’s Sustainable Water Partnership, in this week’s Water Stories podcast. When you wake up, you expect water to flow from your tap. “If you don’t find it flowing, you get upset and will probably call the utility company.” But people living in the Mara River Basin don’t have that luxury. “They have to walk to the river to get water and bring it home,” said Mumbo. With the Sustainable Water Partnership project, Mumbo is working to make sure the Mara River keeps flowing and meets the demand for water. A cornerstone of the project is determining how much water is available and how much water the basin needs. Mumbo and his colleagues are working across Kenya and Tanzania on a water location plan that considers how much water is needed to sustain the environment, the people, and the wildlife, said Mumbo. Once they are able to identify the gaps between supply and demand, they will be better positioned to manage the river. The project is also working to preserve the watershed by creating livelihoods that don’t require cutting trees and other vegetation. With a high demand for honey in the region, beekeeping has been one of their successful alternative livelihoods. “One would not want to cut down a tree where a beehive is kept,” said Mumbo. When the Mara River Basin project started, there was no adequate platform for private investment, said Mumbo. He and his colleagues helped the private sector organize to invest in water management. For example, they registered a Mara Basin hoteliers association to facilitate their investment in water management to maintain the ecotourism industry. The hoteliers understand that the health of their business depends on the health of the Mara. The government, meanwhile, needs to create an enabling environment that can attract investment from private investors. This involves creating a friendly policy environment, regulatory systems, access to financing, and sharing water information with the private sector and the general public. When asked what the greatest lesson from the Sustainable Water Project has been, Mumbo said that gaining the public participation of stakeholders in water conservation was key. You must be able to share the data freely with stakeholders for them to understand how much water is available and when certain policies—like water managers sometimes asking farmers to stop irrigating—are necessary. This understanding and rapport is vital for the future as a rising population and a changing climate will only make the need for effective water management in the Mara River Basin greater.

Last week, the podcast was recorded in front of a live studio audience at the Arkansas Community Development Society annual conference in Conway, Arkansas. In this episode, Dennis is joined by Linsley Kinkade, the senior director of US programs for Winrock International.  Communities are always on a path towards improvement, but where should they focus?  There are infrastructure challenges, workforce shortages, disadvantaged populations, and all sorts of other challenges.  Few communities have the resources to get everything done. Where should communities prioritize?  Linsley provides her guidance based on her experience in the trenches. More About Winrock International Connect with Linsley Kinkade Arkansas Community Development Society This episode brought to you by Accrisoft Corporation - leaders in the economic development web design business.

The Wilson Center is partnering with the USAID Sustainable Water Partnership and Winrock International to share stories about global water security. The series has highlighted the connections between water and food security, water as a tool for resilience in times of crisis, and the challenges and opportunities of too little water, too much water, dirty water, and unpredictable water. “Water point functionality goes beyond the mechanical structure of a pump,” says David DeArmey, Director of International Partnerships at Water for Good in this week’s Water Stories podcast. “Community dynamics play a role in how the water point is managed on a daily basis.” After identifying where to place water access points in communities throughout the Central African Republic (CAR), Water for Good helps facilitate a series of workshops to engage local communities with WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) training, financial and infrastructure management, and the importance of preventative maintenance. A regional representative from the Ministry of Hydraulics is also incorporated into the training workshops to help strengthen state presence and build a more resilient system. After the bore holes are drilled down to the water table and hand pumps are installed, the NGO performs regular preventative maintenance to replace pump parts that wear out over time to prevent mechanical failures. A Volatile Context Since achieving independence in 1960, the country never effectively established a state presence despite being vast, about the size of Texas, DeArmey said. Even basic infrastructure that one would expect for a country to function does not exist outside of the capital city of Bangui. For example, only 400 of the 15,000 miles of road are paved. “But beyond infrastructure, there is a chronic security issue,” he said. Chronic political instability led the country into its second civil war in 2012 with an unprecedented level of violence. Today, nearly 80 percent of the country’s territory is controlled by up to 14 different rebel factions. Although it operates in a volatile context, Water for Good continues its work in CAR, performing preventative maintenance on water points. Since many of the technicians who inspect the pumps are Central Africans who understand the dangerous conditions on the ground, Water for Good is able to navigate safely throughout the country. Employing Central Africans and training them in the long-term maintenance program protects them. “The communities know them well and they are accepted even in times of insecurity,” said DeArmey. Peacebuilding in a Complex Setting “Having the capacity to drill wells, especially in times of conflict, can create unexpected opportunities,” said DeArmey. During the height of the conflict in 2014 and 2015, inter-community tensions caused major divisions between local Christian and Muslim communities. After the Muslim population fled the Lomi District, part of the city of Berberati, the neighborhood began to suffer from an “economic and social void.” Because the Christian population wanted to ensure that the Muslims had a safe environment to return to within their neighborhood, they decided to create a new water point and invite the Muslim community to return and join them in managing it and sharing its water. “That Christian community served as an example in the rest of the city and beyond,” DeArmey said, “and it created a really positive environment in some of the darkest times of the country. So drilling a well in the Lomi District directly helped engage with peacebuilding in a very complicated setting.”

What is life like when your job is quite literally “doing the right thing?” Joining us on this episode is Charlotte Young, the Chief Risk and Compliance Officer at Winrock International. Today we’re talking about the important relationship a compliance officer should have with their board of directors, doing the right thing in and out of work, and two tips based on her decades of experience. Board of Directors: Charlotte has been on both sides of the board: as someone reporting to them, and as a volunteer board member. Reporting to the board is crucial for compliance directors, because you need to be at the top level on the inside, not only to have influence, but also to know what’s going on — so nurture that relationship. Working on a volunteer board, on the other hand, is a rewarding experience, especially because you’re in a position to really bring value and make a difference. Being on both has given her perspectives that she can bring to either role: as a board member, she can advocate for how issues should be dealt with on the ground (because she’s been there), and as a reporting officer, she knows exactly what and how much information a board needs to be able to strategize and guide an organization with. Doing the right thing: Charlotte agrees with Stephanie Davis: it’s too stressful not to be who you are in your job. We are more effective the more genuine and authentic we are, and Charlotte loves having a job where her job is to do the right thing. It’s not always easy, but it’s great to have a job where you’re the guiding light on things like integrity and transparency. It’s also changed her personal life. Charlotte shares a personal story of an example, because if her job is to do the right thing at work, then it’s also her job to do the right thing at home. You need a lot of judgment in these jobs because there are a lot of subtleties involved in compliance. So if you enjoy that, or if you feel like you have good judgment, you’re going to be a great fit. Two pieces of advice: One, fully appreciate the importance of spending time with your board. Your board wants to do the right thing, so for the most part, they’re willing to hear from compliance officers. Use your judgment and trust that you are doing the right thing with the board because they’re there for you as backup and support. Spend the energy to work on this relationship. Two, work on your recognition programs. Charlotte shares examples of how you can recognize people who have acted with integrity — whether publicly or privately, depending on the circumstances — that are great ways to thank people for the hard work that they do. Resources: Charlotte Young | Episode 9: The Only Woman in the Room with Stephanie Davis

Nancy Mancilla is recognized is the CEO and Co-Founder of ISOS Group, a GRI and CDP Certified Training Partner. In this capacity, Nancy has orchestrated 100+ Certified Trainings and assisted some of the world's biggest brands through the complicated sustainability reporting process. Prior to starting ISOS, Nancy assisted Winrock International in developing their sustainability services and led numerous micro-economic development projects related biodiversity, agronomics and renewable energy. She also developed an innovative technique to analyze the sustainability of Winrock’s hydro-electric projects in the Republic of Georgia as opposed to Russian energy sources. Previous positions included the Little Rock City Mayor’s Sustainability Commission, Arkansas Clean Cities Coalition and the Arkansas Biofuels Alliance. Nancy Joins Sustainable Nation to Discuss: The appetite for ESG disclosure ESG data quality and rigor The future of sustainability reporting Engaging stakeholders in sustainability reports Advice and recommendations for sustainability leaders Nancy's Final Five Question Responses: What is one piece of advice you would give other sustainability professionals that might help them in their careers? Schedule out your own personal sustainability because it could be an easy burnout field. That's probably my first and foremost recommendation. What are you most excited about right now in the world of sustainability? I'm excited to see the light bulb go off in the CEO's heads. We're seeing that frequently and across our client base now. That's exciting because when that happens, we know that we've done our job well and we know that the market's moving in the right direction. We know that humanity is moving in the right direction. What is one book you would recommend sustainability professionals read? I have a lot right now because I'm also teaching for a few universities. Strangely enough, it's not necessarily sustainability-driven. It's a series on building business models, and that's The Business Model Navigator Set. There's one on value proposition, there's a business model generator and then the original business model navigator. So, I would highly recommend those because it's a very easy read and quick resource that helps bridge the gap between sustainability being a nice-to-have to something that's operationalized. What are some of your favorite resources or tools that really help you in your work? Google docs is a great one. Our team loves working within Google docs, and with our clients we can quickly add notes and work on things together in the same system even though we're in different parts of the world. It really expedites our work. Where can our listeners go to learn more about you and the work that you're leading at ISOS Group? You can go to our website: www.isosgroup.com or sign on to our newsletter. I know everyone's tired with newsletters so we're trying to up the ante on that and do more short videos and tutorials and things, so they're becoming fun. Just give us a call or reach out via email. We're always interested to share knowledge and to just talk shop with people. About Sustridge Sustridge is a sustainability consulting firm providing consulting in sustainability strategy development, GHG emissions calculating and management, zero waste planning and guidance in TRUE Zero Waste, B Corp, LEED and Carbon Neutral certification.  

Warwick Sabin has spent his professional life bringing energy and ideas to improve the lives of people. During his time in the state legislature, he worked with Democrats and Republicans to reform Arkansas’ ethics laws, promote cleaner energy, and encourage public/private partnerships to create economic growth. He was named one of the top ten legislators of 2013, and the Arkansas Times called him the "Freshman of the session." In 2014, he was one of only 24 national leaders awarded the Rodel Fellowship by the Aspen Institute for his "outstanding ability to work responsibly across partisan divisions and bring greater civility to public discourse." Warwick serves as the Senior Director, U.S. Programs at Winrock International, where he studies and implements programs aimed at helping rural America. He has also served as Director of Development for the William J. Clinton Foundation, and founded the Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub. This is a cutting-edge facility that supports those who want to create new businesses, invent new products, and acquire new job skills. Earlier, Warwick served as a press secretary for U.S. Rep. Marion Berry. He was also a writer and publisher at the Arkansas Times and the Oxford American magazine

Today we return to our exploration of the international development world with our guest Peter Saling of Winrock International. Winrock International was founded by Winthrop Rockefeller to "empower the disadvantaged, increase economic opportunity and sustain natural resources across the globe" using several different approaches. Mr. Saling takes a break from his role in sustainable agriculture to share some of the projects he manages around the globe which both help individuals as well as the larger economy of countries where Winrock works. Cognizant that development is most effective when done with local populations, we learn more about their collaborative efforts as well as a new strategy they will be unveiling soon. Peter Saling is a Program Manager for Winrock International. He is an international development professional with experience in designing and managing financial sector, economic development, and agriculture programs in 15+ countries. Winrock International is a nonprofit organization that works with people in the United States and around the world to empower the disadvantaged, increase economic opportunity, and sustain natural resources.

This webinar continues the discussion from the 'How business can tackle deforestation' forum, held in DC in April. Discussed are key areas of cooperation that can help companies achieve their sustainability goals and lower emissions from land use, as recently identified in Winrock International's report 'Partnering for Results: Public-Private Collaboration on Deforestation Free Supply Chains'. See more here: www.winrock.org/resources/partnering-for-results/  Speakers: Christine Dragisic, team lead, REDD+ and land sector, US Department of State Jonathon Horrell, director of sustainability, Mondelez International Charlotte Streck, co-founder and director, Climate Focus Sarah Walker, program director, ecosystem services, Winrock International Moderator: Ian Welsh, publishing director, Innovation Forum

Jessica Boyd with the Community Ventures Foundation joins us for a conversation on their mission to educate, engage, support, and build the entrepreneurial community by increasing the breadth, depth, and quality of free entrepreneurship initiatives. The Community Venture Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in July of 2015. Our organization was formed to address the need for more free entrepreneurship initiatives in our community. We are committed to building the entrepreneurial community in Arkansas and our surrounding regions. All of our activities fall within one or more of three focus areas: Entrepreneurship Education, Engaging Entrepreneurs, and Supporting Existing Efforts. ​We have provided support for and led efforts such as the Small Business Association's (SBA) Regional Innovation Cluster Initiative, the SBA's InnovateHER contest, the Winrock International and the state of Arkansas's Innovate Arkansas program, the 100 Girls of Code program, MentorCamp, Give Camp NWA, and many more entrepreneurship-focused initiatives.Our mission is to educate, engage, support, and build the entrepreneurial community by increasing the breadth, depth, and quality of free entrepreneurship initiatives. Our goal is to improve the quality of life in the regions where we operate, by increasing the number of entrepreneurial opportunities and success stories. www.communityventurefoundation.org Our contact information: Jeff Amerine / Jeff@startupjunkieconsulting.com / www.startupjunkieconsulting.com Jon Cadieux / jon@455mediagroup.com / www.455mediagroup.com / www.bentonvilleworkplace.com