GLOBAL COFFEEPLATFORM

Winrock International is a nonprofit organization working towards empowering the disadvantaged, increasing economic opportunity, and sustaining natural resources. As a recognized leader in U.S. and international development, Winrock provides solutions to some of the world’s most complex social, agricultural and environmental challenges.

The Global Coffee Platform therefore warmly welcomes Winrock to its global membership. Pablo Ramirez, Director of Blended Finance at Winrock, praises the work of GCP in improving farmer livelihoods. He also sees a lot of potential for Winrock to significantly contribute to the collective action being carried out by GCP’s large network of members and Country Platforms as well as the direct benefits Winrock will enjoy in advancing its own organizational mission. One example is addressing the issue of farmer profitability. Acknowledging the investments made by the farmer, Mr. Ramirez believes GCP can be the facilitator between all members of the supply chain to ensure coffee farming becomes viable and the sector as a whole is able to flourish.

Combining technical expertise with entrepreneurial innovation to improve lives around the globe, Winrock manages a portfolio of more than 100 agriculture, environment and social development projects in over 40 countries with over 1,000 staff worldwide. It matches innovative approaches in agriculture, natural resources management, clean energy, and leadership development with the unique needs of its partners. A great example of WInrock’s work is the two projects carried out in Myanmar.

The success case of Myanmar

Among the different projects Winrock has developed over the years, two projects in Myanmar have caught the attention of the public, the Farmer-to-Farmer and Value Chains for Rural Development projects, both funded by USAID. They aim to increase smallholder productivity, generate opportunity for market access and income, as well as training farmers to increase their own sustainable capacity.

“The coffee industry in Myanmar wasn’t known anywhere but just after three years of Winrock being there, there are wet mills, dry mills, cupping rooms, cuppers trained by Winrock in collaboration with the Coffee Quality Institute. Now their coffee is being showcased in big specialty coffee meetings all over the world” Mr Ramirez.

Interested to know more about Winrock International and potential opportunities for member collaboration? Please get in touch!

Not yet a member? Check out our Members’ page and learn more about the advantages of joining GCP.