Blog

• “Trees Bring Oxygen, Shade and Rain”

  In Côte d’Ivoire, traditional cocoa farming involved cutting down trees to increase sunlight. This not only accelerates climate change, but also negatively impacts cocoa yields. Shade management is better for cocoa tree life expectancy, quality of beans and soil health. A highly biodiverse cocoa farm has been shown to be drought, disease, and pest resilient.

  “Trees Bring Oxygen, Shade and Rain”

• Sowing Peace in a Divided World

  We are living a new reality. Last week, as I returned from my first visit to the African continent since the beginning of the pandemic, I arrived in what felt…

  Sowing Peace in a Divided World

• Better Business through Gender Transformative Approaches

  By Jamie Anderson, Cesar Maita Azpiri Gender transformative approaches are good for business. How can companies accelerate their adoption? Insights…

  Better Business through Gender Transformative Approaches

• How Private Sector Development Strategies contribute to closing living income gaps

  Authored by Iris van der Velden, IDH Director of Learning and Innovation, with insight from IDH Roadmap on Living Income and Farmfit Intelligence center. Taking action to close…

  How Private Sector Development Strategies contribute to closing living income gaps

• This is what IDH calls progress

  Where others see things falling apart, I see the way being cleared to rebuild our systems in a new and healthy way. We need leaders who have the courage to step out of the rigid belief system of what business should be.

  This is what IDH calls progress

• Different Paths, Common Goal: Living Wages are Possible

  This article was first published on Sustainable Brands   Key insights from IDH shows how companies and coalitions are making real progress on living wages  …

  Different Paths, Common Goal: Living Wages are Possible

• The palm oil challenge: How India can push for sustainable edible oils 

  In recent decades, palm oil and soy have grown to dominate the global production mix and global consumption of edible oils by volume.  India - the world’s largest importer of vegetable oils - has a unique opportunity and agency to address the environmental impact of vegetable oil consumption.

  The palm oil challenge: How India can push for sustainable edible oils 

• Three changes needed to pull off COP26 forest and land use pledges

  Forests did go to the COP26 ball. They grabbed more attention at the annual U.N. climate conference than ever, with new funding and a commitment “to…

  Three changes needed to pull off COP26 forest and land use pledges

• Addressing economic empowerment of Kenyan smallholder tea farming families

  In most productive sectors in Kenya, especially in agriculture, women provide a significant amount of the on-farm labour. Despite their contribution, only a small percentage of these women have ownership…

  Addressing economic empowerment of Kenyan smallholder tea farming families

• Keep focusing on the big picture of improving wages

  The issue of living wages evokes strong emotions. Most people agree that decent work should be remunerated with wages that provide a decent livelihood. Advocates for a living wage in…

  Keep focusing on the big picture of improving wages

• The way towards living wages and incomes in the food system 

  Not only is food a necessity of life, it is also a source of livelihoods for millions. However, many people working in the agricultural sector struggle to get by…

  The way towards living wages and incomes in the food system 

• NKG BLOOM Lays the Foundation for Living Income in coffee

  Neumann Kaffee Group began the roll out of their NKG BLOOM program in 2017 targeting smallholder coffee farmers looking to maximize the potential of their coffee plots and increase their…

  NKG BLOOM Lays the Foundation for Living Income in coffee

• COP26 Nature Day – a reason for cautious optimism and renewed commitment to smallholder support

  Working towards a living income for smallholder farmers is critical to halting and reversing global deforestation. IDH has been convening a group of senior stakeholders to discuss this topic as…

  COP26 Nature Day – a reason for cautious optimism and renewed commitment to smallholder support

• Cocoa agroforestry – a win-win production activity for resilient food systems

  Cocoa agroforestry – a win-win production activity for resilient food systems