News
Vickie Woodard plants seeds of community growth
May 22, 2024
Vickie Woodard has always planted her own seeds to build community. Now, the seeds are sprouting ─ literally. A tireless entrepreneur and community activist from England, Arkansas ─ a city of just under 3,000 people in the state’s economically fragile Delta region ─ Woodard secured a $90,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to […]
The Chaiyaphum Experiment: a #thaiRAIN success story
May 20, 2024
The problem For many cassava farmers in Thailand and the Greater Mekong Subregion, Cassava Mosaic Disease has been a rapidly growing concern since its outbreak in 2018. The disease is economically lethal, as affected plantations often suffer more than a 50 percent drop in yield due to CMD infections, and any infected cassava must be […]
Pitch perfect – The Starch Value Chain Conference: a #thaiRAIN success story
May 20, 2024
RAIN forecast across the region The USDA-funded Thailand Regional Agriculture Innovation Network (#thaiRAIN) has started building a reputation for its innovative methods. For example, to achieve the goal of promoting climate-smart innovation to 30,000 farmers, #thaiRAIN is focused on building effective business models and encouraging early adoption through existing supply chain actors. While it might […]
Cross-border collaboration: Two USDA projects unite to empower farmers
May 20, 2024
The disease that knows no borders Cassava Mosaic Disease has been an increasing threat to crop productivity for 2 million farmers across Southeast Asia, including over 600,000 households in Thailand alone. CMD, knowing no borders, has been fast to spread across the region. Over 40% of the crop in Cambodia was hit in just a […]
From data collector to project officer: A journey of self-discovery in Vietnam
May 13, 2024
Graduating from university with a major in international business in 2020, Nguyen Vu Nam is one of the young people in Vietnam yearning to explore new things and express themselves. His career started as a data collector and real estate market analyst. Although that job held some challenges, it mostly comprised monotonous computer tasks. “After […]
Enduring innovation: Health tech startup incubated by Winrock-led programs poised for growth
May 2, 2024
MappedOut Health is a client of Winrock International’s former Innovate Arkansas program, a state-funded initiative that assisted more than 750 startup companies in Arkansas, raised $473 million in capital and generated $939 million in revenue over a 15-year period. As with many innovations, the origin story of the promising new health technology firm, MappedOut Health, […]
Farmer Conservation Leader Subaward Program: Supporting changemakers in the Mississippi River Basin
April 30, 2024
The Wallace Center at Winrock International is pleased to announce the nine recipients of its Farmer Conservation Leader Subaward Program, an initiative of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Gulf of Mexico Division. This program addresses the needs of historically underserved farming communities in the Mississippi River Region by providing funding and technical support to organizations […]
Startup Recruiting Fund at Winrock International invests in AI electromagnetic spectrum technology company
April 24, 2024
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. ─ The Startup Recruiting Fund at Winrock International ─ the first not-for-profit, evergreen fund aimed at recruiting high-growth startups to Arkansas ─ has announced an investment in Xtremis, an AI electromagnetic spectrum technology company that was spun-out of Vanderbilt University in 2021 through the Civil Military Innovation Institute, Defense Innovation Incubator. Proceeds from […]
A life in public service: David H. Pryor, 1934-2024
April 23, 2024
David H. Pryor, the former Arkansas governor, U.S. senator and U.S. representative who previously served on Winrock International’s Board of Directors, died on Saturday at his home in Little Rock, surrounded by his family. “I think he was a great model for public service. He was a great role model for politicians, but just for […]
How the USAID Reducing Pollution project fosters collective action to tackle plastic waste in Vietnam
April 19, 2024
By: Hanh Nguyen, USAID Reducing Pollution project. The USAID Reducing Pollution project team is working on a five-year project to support locally-driven initiatives that substantially reduce environmental pollution in Vietnam through a collective impact approach. The project is helping to build the capacity of government, local nongovernmental organizations and private sector partners to prevent, mitigate […]