How can business build gender equality into supply chains? Oxfam’s Ulrike Joras and Gaël Lescornec of the World Cocoa Foundation, share lessons from the cocoa industry and introduce a new shared initiative. From South Africa to Somalia, we have both spent over a decade working on issues related to poverty and inequality. While this work has often generated more questions …
How can overcoming educational barriers improve the sustainability of smallholder supply chains?
[buzzsprout episode=’2559220′ player=’true’] In this podcast we speak to Amanda Klarer, the Responsible Farming Program Manager at Marcatus QED, who works with some of the world’s leading and niche consumer brands to develop customised sourcing programmes, innovative products and sustainable supply chains. Marcatus QED is one of Unilever’s supply partners for their gherkin supply chain, and is part of the …
Reaching refugees and boosting small businesses in Bangladesh
By providing emergency cash or vouchers Oxfam can help people in crisis to get desperately needed food and other items, while boosting local businesses at the same time. Corrie Sissons explains what this looks like in Oxfam’s Rohingya Crisis response. At Oxfam we help those in crisis to meet their emergency needs in a way which does no harm. This …
Influencing for food security in the South Caucasus
What strategies can be used to raise the voices of smallholder farmers so that food security policies reflect their needs? Shekhar Anand and Jacky Repila share learning from Oxfam’s national influencing work in the South Caucasus. Small holder farmers are some of the people most vulnerable to food insecurity in the South Casucasus. In Georgia 63 per cent of all …
A no ‘tick-box’ approach to gender and resilience
A key question for Oxfam and the development sector is how to address the different challenges faced by people living in poverty in a holistic fashion. However, our partners are often already successfully addressing multiple issues at once as Caroline Ashley saw in Bangladesh. I’ve seen gender treated as a ‘tick-box’ exercise – yes women participated. The same goes for …
A letter to Sainsbury’s
This is a joint agency letter sent to Sainsbury’s CEO Mike Coupe following the announcement of the “Fairly Traded” tea pilot and the creation of the new Sainsbury’s Sustainability Standards. Dear Mike, Following the announcement of Sainsbury’s “Fairly Traded” tea pilot and the creation of the new Sainsbury’s Sustainability Standards, we are writing to express a number of serious concerns. Although …
Smarter aid: Why digital cash transfers are the future
With mobile internet now widely available across East Africa the arguments for aid through electronic cash transfers are overwhelming. Nigel Tricks, Oxfam’s Horn East and Central Africa Regional Director reflects on a recent visit to drought affected Somaliland. Two weeks ago, I visited Oxfam’s drought response in eastern Somaliland. We drove across a stark landscape; what should be a pastoralist …
Food price volatility infographic
Oxfam and the Institute of Development Studies published a report from four years of research in 10 countries into price volatility and its impact on the millions of people who struggle to feed their families nutritiously. The findings found more were turning to the convenience of fast food and a ‘Westernized’ diet, while communities we’re having increasing concerns about food safety and quality. …
Cash transfer programming in Zimbabwe
Khodeza Rume, a Humanitarian Support Personnel in Food Security and Livelihoods, reflects on a recent electronic cash programme with the World Food Programme and Econet. With the 2008 financial crash, Zimbabwe suffered a cash crisis and economic collapse which resulted in chronic food insecurity. The situation has since been exacerbated by the effects of El Niño with an estimated 4.1 million …
Revisiting Yemen in the midst of conflict
The people of Yemen are experiencing one of the world’s gravest humanitarian crises. The conflict between a Saudi-led coalition of Gulf countries and the Government of Yemen against the Ansar-Allah movement (also known as the Houthis), escalated in March 2015. Two years on, Jonathon Puddifoot reflects on a recent visit to the country he knows so well. Its 30 years …