Cashews
ofi’s Cashew business is one of the first businesses for Olam in Ghana and presently we are a leading exporter of raw cashew nuts from Ghana. We are happy that over the years we have been part of the success story of Ghana’s cashew industry growth and contributed to it responsibly as a market leader.
Over the years, we have invested in capacity building for Cashew farming communities to help them overcome challenges such as low yield, poor quality and access to market. We offer year-round support to our farmers and have built strong relationships. We collect produce from farmers and aggregate inventory at ofi - warehouses, which also receive goods from our buying agents. Each location is equipped with drying and packing facilities allowing us to maintain the quality of the product and prepare it quickly for export to customers outside of Ghana.
Beyond the harvest season, we train farmers in Good Agricultural Practice to help them farm sustainably, increase their economic prosperity and create healthy ecosystems. We identify training needs at a community level and deliver tailored programmes.
It is refreshing to know that apart from supporting the growth of the Ghana cashew crop through the annual distribution of free cashew grafts to the farmers with whom we are directly connected to, we also promote alternative livelihood income support programs in cashew orchards. Our flagship program in bee keeping has seen over 400 women trained so far and set up in honey production: an additional household income from cashew orchards tailored towards women.
We also provide knowledge support and related training programs to adhere to the stipulated framework for Organic Cashew.
Overall, Cashew team has believed in working with the farming community beyond the routine transactional relation and extend into activities which could lead to the welfare of the cashew farmers.
Cocoa
From sourcing cocoa beans at the farmgate and establishing a Licensed Buying Company in 1999, to working with farming communities across the country and operating a state-of-the-art factory, we provide Ghanaian cocoa products to customers worldwide.
Traceability and sustainability are at the core of our operations. We source beans from smallholder farmers across Ghana and provide year-round support to help them achieve the best income for their crop. The cocoa business has maintained leadership position as the number I license Buying Company (LBC) in the country with presence across the entire cocoa landscape.
Our support ranges from micro financing, to training on Good Agricultural Practices and Climate-smart agriculture, to supplying hybrid cocoa and shade tree seedlings.
Olam is a founding member of the Cocoa and Forests Initiative (CFI). We are currently working in several landscapes in Ghana partnering with Government, NGOs, and other state Institutions to develop cocoa landscapes by supporting farmers improve productivity and livelihoods using LMB approach.
Read ofi news
Be the change: How women in Ghana are pioneering a more prosperous future for cocoa growing communities
International Women's Day is a moment to celebrate the progress toward achieving gender equality and women's empowerment. But it's also a chance to reflect and consider what still needs to be done to help achieve gender parity worldwide.
Take cocoa production, for example. On average, women earn only 21% of the income that men do1. At ofi, as part of our Cocoa Compass sustainability ambition and as a signatory to the UN Women's Empowerment Principles, we've been promoting gender equality in our cocoa supply chain for many years. I'll explain three ways we've approached this where I'm from, in Ghana.
How can companies implement effective workforce nutrition programs?
By Clara Tessler, Nutrition & Health Manager, ofi
Malnutrition and poor health around the world continue to negatively impact businesses as result of working days lost to illness and reduced workforce productivity.
As well as benefiting employees, investments by companies in health and wellbeing can lead to better employee engagement, reduced absenteeism and higher performance and productivity.
We want to create an environment where employees want to come to work every day – it’s in everyone’s best interest.
To that end, at ofi we’ve set a goal that by 2030, everyone in our primary workforce will have access to nutrition support. This is the goal we are working towards to ensure the health and wellbeing of all our employees, driven by our purpose to be the change for good food and healthy future.
In 2021, with support from the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), ofi began the roll-out of the Workforce Nutrition Alliance’s Workforce Nutrition Scorecard to assess our baseline and develop or strengthen workplace nutrition programs that tackle issues related to malnutrition across our worksites globally. This includes initiatives across four pillars: healthy food at work, nutrition education, nutrition-focused and breastfeeding support, and resources for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers.
Discover more from my discussion with GAIN and the Consumer Goods Forum in the Healthier Lives podcast:
ofi announces retirement of Gerard Manley
Company and industry veteran retires after a stellar career spanning over 25 years with the company and 40 years in the industry
ofi, a global leader in naturally good food and beverage ingredients, today announced that the CEO of its cocoa business, and the group’s Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO), Gerard Manley, will retire at the end of June 2023.
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