Oxfam Southern Africa Blog

Reaping the rewards of Conservation Agriculture

Paulina showing her maize field; Credit: Tingo Matupa Project Officer/BSHDC

Paulina Banda is a 41-year-old woman and married, the family has three children; two boys and one girl, aged 21, 15 and 6 respectively. She is a primary school dropout from Kamowa Village, Group Village Head Stande in the area of Traditional Authority Kunthembwe in Blantyre District.

Paulina’s household is one of the many vulnerable households that her community chose to benefit from Projects Direct. ‘’My family could not have enough food to last us for the whole year due to persistent dry spells in this area,” Paulina starts narrating her story.

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Nothing about us without us!

The Guest of Honour, the Mozambique Minister of Trade and Industry, Armando Inroga officially opening the dialogue. Priyal Pillay/Oxfam

Informal Cross Border Trade (ICBT) has the potential to contribute significantly to economic, sustainable growth and development in southern Africa. It is estimated that ICBT in Africa contributes about 43 percent of official gross domestic product.

So far there has been substantial proportion of informal cross border trade transactions in sub-Saharan Africa that includes staple food commodities such as maize, rice and cattle and low quality consumer goods such as clothes, shoes and electronic appliances but a number of barriers to trade have consistently hindered an increase of this economic activity. Informal cross border traders (ICBTs) refer to registered and unregistered business activities undertaken across borders.

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Balaka and Blantyre farmers build resilience to climate change

Mary Ligomba in front of her failed maize crop (2011 -12 crop season) Photograph: Zilani Khonje

Travelling between the Malawi’s capital Lilongwe and Blantyre the commercial city can be exciting. The five-hour journey takes you through three districts of Dedza, Ntcheu and Balaka. The latter is regarded as a rain shadow area but also its one of the districts normally hit with prolonged dry spells during the rainy season. Cotton is the common cash crop because of the high temperature in the district. Another common sight passing through the district is dry wilted maize. Now this has been spared in 2013, as the rains according to the meteorological department, have been normal. Good news for farmers in the area I must say.

Nevertheless, for past three years, 42-year-old Paulina Banda from Kamowa village in Blantyre district has experienced a reduction in her crops harvest. Like many in her village, Paulina can relate the decreasing crop to climate change and variability. For them, the prolonged dry spells resulting from erratic rainfall have increased poverty in many household as villagers keep selling their goats and other household items to purchase food. For others, charcoal burring, and casual labour has become the only source of income to support them to buy food for the family. In Balaka and Blantyre rural, the forest is fast disappearing because of charcoal burning. Soil fertility has been lost due to erosions caused by deforestation. With loss of soil nutrients, crop productivity is highly affected hence reduction in quality production of both food and cash crops in the two districts.

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A delayed live video of the panel discussion presented by Oxfam focusing on the Brazilian experience in addressing poverty, hunger and inequality. Held in Durban on March 14th, 2013.

Cash transfer or food aid?

By Zilani Khonje

Agnes showing off part of her maize. Zilani Khonje/Oxfam

You see, the politics of food aid in Malawi is quite interesting. Food aid or cash transfer? Whose voice matters in making decisions on what those missing their food entitlements should get? To me it is the major donors such as the World Food Program (WFP)! Not that I am saying they are the rightful people, no! I say this because the government of Malawi I believe has the power to influence or demand what kind of aid should reach its people.

On the other end, non-governmental organisations such as Oxfam also tend to believe that they know the right kind of aid needed for the vulnerable and poor in need of food. Regardless of who is right or wrong, it is clear that the voice of the voiceless is silent or ignored in deciding the course of their lives in the face of hunger.

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‘Behind the Brands’ launch – Oxfam tackles 10 food giants

Approximately one in eight people go to bed hungry every night, while the 10 biggest food companies together generate sales of more than $1 billion a day. These companies have immense power but are failing to use it to help build a world where everyone has enough to eat.

Oxfam’s GROW campaign has gone head to head with 10 of the biggest companies in the world. With the launch of the Behind the Brands social media campaign, the aim is to rally consumer support and pressurise the world’s food giants into becoming more ethical.

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Domestic Resource Mobilisation: A tax study of the South African economy

Developing countries face challenges including widespread poverty, ever increasing unemployment and widening inequalities. South Africa’s experience of these challenges has given rise in the post-Apartheid era to an examination of the nature and dynamism of income distribution and the factors that drive it; the role of fiscal policy as a redistributive tool and the progressivity of tax and transfer policies have come into sharp focus.

The failure by any state to tax adequately is not only an indicator of, but also forms the basis for, underdevelopment. Therefore difficulties in collecting taxes are generally a reflection of a weak economy and an ineffective government. Most importantly, if governments do not have adequate tax revenues they are then forced to rely on external sources of support to provide public services.

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Emergency cash transfer response to the 2012-2013 food crisis in Malawi

Beneficiaries of a cash transfer scheme

The Integrated Emergency Cash Transfer Response Project, which was implemented by Oxfam and its consortium partners and being funded by DFID UK Aid, (with co-funding from Oxfam) has targeted a total of 40,988 people and is part of the government led response to localised food insecurity in Malawi.

The move is part of the response to a recent report by the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee, or MVAC, for 2012/2013. It shows that about two million households are facing food shortages largely because of erratic rains and draught during the last growing season.

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Oxfam stands – and dances! – with one billion people to demand an end to violence against women

On February 14th, people around the world will be rising up together to protest, dance, march, and sing in a shared voice to demand an end to violence against women and girls.

One Billion Rising, an inspiring global movement, couldn’t come a moment too soon.

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Climate Change Adaption in Midlands and Masvingo Provinces

ZMSD staff member Elishah Moyo points out the seasonal weather forecast at the Gutu District Agritex office (the forecast came late to the district office and was not used effectively to inform farmers about the coming rainfall season

In Zimbabwe, climate change is affecting and has already affected many of the communities where Oxfam is working. This has occurred firstly, through gradual changes in Zimbabwe’s temperature and rainfall patterns, and secondly through an increasing frequency and/or intensity of natural hazards such as droughts and floods.

These changes are affecting the poorest communities in the country and are threatening their livelihoods. Poor smallholder farming communities have become more dependent on climate related activities, such as rain-fed agriculture for their livelihoods. In addition many Zimbabweans live and earn a living in places with traditionally poor soils, high temperatures and low and unreliable rainfall. For many of these communities they are already in a compromised position where they lack the human, financial and institutional capacity to respond to the impacts of climate change.

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