National Coffee Association Names TechnoServe the “Origin Charity of the Year”

The award recognizes TechnoServe’s work supporting the livelihoods of smallholder coffee farmers around the globe

February 24, 2020 (Arlington, VA) — International nonprofit TechnoServe was announced today as the winner of the National Coffee Association’s Origin Charity of the Year award. The National Coffee Association—the leading trade organization for the coffee industry in the United States—recognized TechnoServe’s work to improve the incomes of smallholder coffee farmers through stronger and more sustainable value chains. 

TechnoServe specializes in business approaches to reducing poverty worldwide, with coffee  programs in more than a dozen countries across Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Its coffee work focuses on four key drivers of impact for smallholder farmers, creating greater value for exporters, roasters, and other industry players across the supply chain:

• Better Farming: TechnoServe has trained more than 400,000 coffee farmers on sustainable agronomy practices, helping them to increase their productivity and income.   
• Better Business: TechnoServe has helped farmers construct 266 new coffee-processing businesses and advised more than 760 existing processing businesses. This support has helped improve coffee quality and market access, increasing the incomes of 500,000 farmers globally.
• Better Supply Chains: TechnoServe has worked with partners across the coffee ecosystem to develop practical and sustainable solutions to supply-chain issues, including access to finance and improved transparency.
• Better Environment: Pioneering simple, cost-effective solutions, TechnoServe has helped 843 businesses in the coffee value chain to adopt sustainability standards and create positive environmental and social impacts in their communities.

“TechnoServe is honored to receive the National Coffee Association’s Origin Charity of the Year Award. Our organization was founded more than 50 years ago with the idea that when women and men in developing countries have access to information, capital, and markets, they can create prosperity for themselves and their communities,” said William Warshauer, president and CEO of TechnoServe. “Nowhere is that more true than the coffee sector, and we look forward to continuing to work with partners across the industry to create lasting, transformative impact around the globe.”

“We thank the NCA for recognizing the work of more than 350 TechnoServe agronomists and business advisors in 14 countries to help farmers realize their full potential and earn better livelihoods,” said Paul Stewart, TechnoServe’s global coffee director. “12.5 million families across Africa, Latin America and Asia depend on coffee to earn a living, and many of them face challenges of shrinking farms and declining productivity. But we have seen time and again in our work that the coffee industry can play a vital role in creating real change.” 

“The coffee industry depends on a strong partnership with farmers,” William ‘Bill’ Murray, NCA president and CEO, said in a press release. “TechnoServe is a shining example of how coffee companies, development experts, and the farmers themselves are working together to fight poverty, build capacity, and strengthen coffee-growing communities.”

TechnoServe will receive the award on March 6th at the National Coffee Association’s annual convention in Austin, Texas. 

##

About TechnoServe

TechnoServe is a leader in harnessing the power of the private sector to help people lift themselves out of poverty. A nonprofit organization operating in 29 countries, we work with enterprising men and women in the developing world to build competitive farms, businesses and industries. By linking people to information, capital and markets, we have helped millions to create lasting prosperity for their families and communities.

Founded over 50 years ago, TechnoServe has been named the #1 nonprofit for fighting poverty by the ImpactMatters charity ratings agency.