ofi (olam food ingredients), a global leader in naturally good food and beverage ingredients and solutions, has been assessed as the most advanced out of 22 companies in the 2023-2024 Platform Living Wage Financials (PLWF) benchmark for the Food Agri and Food Retail sectors.  

A PLWF spokesperson said: “ofi has demonstrated notable progress in its commitment to living incomes, evidenced by its progression to the ‘Advanced’ category in the 2024 assessment cycle and its target of 200,000 ofi farmer households achieving a living income by 2030.”   

A living income is a net annual income needed for a decent standard of living. For many smallholder farmers, this is a major challenge. Roel van Poppel,

ofi’s Chief Sustainability Officer, acknowledged the difficulty. “A living income is our North Star,” he said. “But we know many farmers in our supply chains face multiple challenges.”  

ofi’s work with Wageningen University & Research highlights that for many smallholders, cultivating crops like coffee makes good economic sense, but they often lack the minimum farm size and yield levels to achieve an annual living income. “By focusing on improving the efficiency of time spent on coffee farming, we can target interventions that are directly in our sphere of influence, like, training, access to adequate inputs, and hand-held mechanization.” van Poppel explained. “Our approach is to tailor on-the-ground interventions and collaborate with customers and other organizations to help farmers move closer to a living income.”  

PLWF credited ofi’s strategic approach for its ‘Advanced’ ranking. They noted the company’s method of segmenting farmers based on farm size and yield, which allows it to create customised support packages. By 2030, ofi aims to provide this enhanced support to one million farmers. 

ofi is already partnering with around 500,000 farmers annually through its sustainability programs. As of 2023, approximately 50,000 households in its sourcing network had achieved a living income.

ofi has also made its living income measurement tool available to the broader food and agri sector via the SaaS platform TRACT. 

“Measuring income gaps is the crucial first step,” van Poppel added. “That’s why we’re collaborating with partners like Nestlé and IDH to create a shared approach to help farmers prosper and become more resilient.” 

Mark Birch of IDH praised ofi’s partnership, highlighting its role in the Business Action Committee for the Living Income Roadmap: “It is encouraging to see that

ofi made its innovative living income measurement tool publicly accessible. Something IDH supported by facilitating an independent external evaluation and participating to guide the ongoing development of the tool,” he said. ” This year, we’re also working with ofi on a pioneering initiative

to improve the livelihoods of cashew farmers in Côte d’Ivoire; a sector that has historically seen limited focus in living income interventions.” 

Valerie Janssen from Wageningen University & Research also commended: “We value ofi’s dynamic collaboration, the time and expertise they bring to discussions, as well as the dataset they made available for our latest research paper on living income.” 

Discover much more about what ofi has to offer at ofi.com 

About ofi 

ofi (olam food ingredients) is an operating group born out of Olam. ofi offers sustainable, natural, value-added food products and ingredients so that consumers can enjoy the healthy and indulgent products they love. It consists of industry-leading businesses of cocoa, coffee, dairy, nuts, and spices. ofi has built a unique global value chain presence, including its own farming operations, farm-gate origination, and manufacturing facilities.

ofi partners with customers, leveraging its complementary and differentiated portfolio of ‘on-trend’ food products, to co-create solutions that anticipate and meet changing consumer preferences as demand increases for healthier food that’s traceable and sustainable.

About Olam 

Olam Group is a leading food and agri-business supplying food, ingredients, feed, and fibre to 22,000 customers worldwide. Our value chain spans over 60 countries and includes farming, processing, and distribution operations, as well as a global network of farmers.

 Through our purpose to ‘Re-imagine Global Agriculture and Food Systems’, Olam Group aims to address the many challenges involved in meeting the needs of a growing global population, while achieving positive impact for farming communities, our planet, and all our stakeholders. Headquartered and listed in Singapore, Olam Group currently ranks among the top 30 largest primary listed companies in terms of market capitalisation on SGX-ST. Since June 2020, Olam Group has been included in the FTSE4Good Index Series, a global sustainable investment index series developed by FTSE Russell, following a rigorous assessment of Olam’s supply chain activities, impact on the environment, and governance transparency. The FTSE4Good Index Series identifies companies that demonstrate strong Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices and is used by a variety of market participants to create and assess responsible investment funds.