Issues we work on: Food

Oxfam is working towards a world where everyone has enough to eat and where women especially have the opportunity to earn a decent living.

Growing, eating and earning

In 2011/12, we helped 780,000 people produce, eat and earn more.

Good goods

In 2011/12, we helped 250,000 people, especially women, get their goods to market.

The issue

Life is tough for millions of poor food producers, but the current economic crisis is hitting them particularly hard. Any fall in demand or rise in prices can mean the difference between eating every day or going hungry.

And it's women that are worst affected. Many women work the land or are employed in informal, casual work, so when things go wrong, they're the first to lose their jobs and go without when household budgets shrink.

What we're doing

Support for poor communities during this economic crisis includes helping farmers get a fair price for their produce, campaigning against global trade rules that keep people in poverty, and supporting women's labour rights.

Women especially have the potential to lead the way in building businesses and tapping into local and global markets to increase their earning power.

We have also been pushing for the introduction of a Robin Hood Tax - a new 0.05% tax on banks directed to tackling poverty worldwide. However, our most ambitious campaign to date is GROW - a global campaign to fix the world's broken food system.

The GROW campaign

The GROW campaign aims to transform the food system by establishing sustainable - and environmentally sound - agricultural production that will be able to feed a world population of 9 billion by 2050.

It also aims to address the huge inequalities that exist in the food system. Currently the world produces more food than we need, but nearly 1 billion people go without. And smallholder farmers, who comprise the majority of food producers, are denied the resources they need to thrive - water, land, technology and investment.

It's a campaign that seeks to bring about a shift in global government attitudes to food trade and finance. It focuses on small-scale farming in developing countries, and changing attitudes to the world's scarce resources for a fairer future.

Latest blogs on food

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GROW

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Policy & Practice

More about food and livelihoods

on our Policy & Practice website

Support our Liberia project

700 farmers will receive training, get better facilities and negotiate better prices, thanks to our project in Liberia.

Other issues we work on

Climate change

Oxfam is working to reduce the impact of global warming – now and in the future.
Health and education

Affordable health care and a quality education are the foundations for a brighter future for poor people.
Water

It's easy to forget what a miracle water is. With a water supply on tap, food can grow, and people can thrive.
Women's rights

Empowering women is vital to ending poverty. So we put women's rights at the heart of our work.
Money for aid and development

Good aid saves lives and helps poor people work their own way out of poverty.
Holding the powerful to account

We help people fight discrimination and demand their rights.
Conflicts and disasters

When conflicts or natural disasters – such as the drought in East Africa in July 2011 – strike, we get there fast.
Businesses and poverty

Good business is about more than making money. Companies can lift millions of people out of poverty.
Poverty in the UK

One in five people in Britain lives in poverty. That's 13 million people. We're working to support them.

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Food

Growing, eating and earning

Good goods

The issue