Inside ofi and GIZ’s model for high-impact, inclusive partnerships
This year, as FAO marks the Year of the Woman Farmer, I’ve been reflecting on what partnership looks like when it genuinely moves the needle for women. At ofi, working across markets and value chains every day, one truth is clear: we cannot build resilient, climatesmart, commercially viable supply chains without investing in the women who hold them together.
Women are farmers, workers, traders, and technical specialists. They safeguard soils, water, biodiversity, and household food security. Yet when they lack access to the resources that drive productivity and income, the quality and volume of what we can source is directly affected.
Our multiyear collaboration with Germany’s development agency, GIZ, has shown what effective partnership design looks like when the goal is to change that reality. Together, we’re investing €10 million across 12 programs to support 83,000 smallholder farmers- including 28,000 women – to build stronger livelihoods and participate in more resilient, compliant, highervalue supply chains.
Five lessons stand out for any organization serious about empowering women farmers at scale.
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1. Anchor the partnership in a shared problem you’re both motivated to solve
Both organizations began with a common understanding: gender inequality is a structural weakness in agricultural supply chains. When women lack access to land, training, finance, or climatesmart resources, communities lose productivity and resilience.
Women coffee farmers, for example, often manage soil health, water use, pest control, and processing – roles that make them well placed to adopt climatesmart practices. Yet they still lack the resources and decisionmaking power needed to succeed.
This shared understanding underpins one of our largest publicprivate partnerships. With GIZ, we are strengthening extension services, infrastructure, certification, and targeted training across ofi’s black pepper, cashew, cocoa, coffee, and hazelnut supply chains, with the goal of uplifting 28,000 women. The partnership also supports ofi’s ambition, aligned with FAO’s Commit to Grow Equality initiative, to help 250,000 women farmers improve their livelihoods by 2030 under our Choices for Change strategy.
My advice: Start with the strategic problem, not the activities. Ensure it matters commercially, socially, and strategically to both partners.
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2. Design around complementary strengths
Partnerships thrive when each organization brings something distinct. GIZ contributes technical expertise and decades of experience in inclusive rural development. ofi brings a global sourcing network, local presence, and trusted relationships with farming communities.
Our HEART Türkiye partnership with GIZ and local NGO Health Right Association shows how complementary strengths close critical gaps. In Türkiye’s Black Sea region, seasonal migrant women workers move between crops for months at a time. While ofi has helped improve temporary living conditions, women still lacked preventive care and health information. Through a 15month program, partners will reach around 5,000 women with reproductive health education, screenings, and culturally tailored resources.
“Through our collaboration with ofi, we bring together complementary expertise to strengthen women’s economic participation.”– Birte Jaster, Key Account Manager at GIZ.
My advice: Let each partner lead where they have reach and expertise.
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3. Co-create solutions that tackle root causes, not just symptoms
The constraints women face are systemic barriers, not ‘women’s problems’. That’s why our programs pair training with communitylevel interventions to influence household decisionmaking, shift social norms, and strengthen male allyship.
Across our 12 programs, three priorities stand out:
- Access to finance and highervalue markets: Training in Good Agricultural Practices, regenerative agriculture, postharvest management, and EUDR readiness helps women participate in compliant, highervalue supply chains. Improved access to finance is equally critical.
- Economic agency and entrepreneurship: Village Savings and Loans Associations and womenled cooperatives create enterprise pathways, including developing cashew apple microbusinesses with 1,250 women in Cambodia and Ghana.
- Safe and inclusive working environments: Health screenings for seasonal hazelnut workers in Türkiye, improved working conditions in cashew processing, and genderinclusive vocational training in Brazil help women participate with dignity and security.
My advice: Target the systems that hold women back for lasting impact.
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4. Scalability depends on long-term, multi-stakeholder commitment
Impact at scale requires longterm vision, consistent funding, and strong operational partnerships. Our 12 programs span nine regions over two to four years, bringing together privatesector allies, NGOs, farmer organizations, and local institutions.
In Ecuador, ofi and GIZ are joined by customers including Mars and NGO Rikolto to support 2,800 cocoa farmers, at least 20% women, to shift to lowcarbon production systems. More than 580 women have already participated in farmer field schools to learn regenerative agriculture techniques, including intercropping cocoa with other crops to boost yields, diversify incomes, and lower on-farm emissions.
Communal nurseries and biofactories run by women are also creating new income streams, showing how livelihoods, gender equity, and climate resilience intersect.
““GIZ is joining forces with ofi in Ecuador to improve productivity more sustainably while meeting social and environmental criteria.” – Ralf Buss, Project Manager, AgriChains Ecuador, GIZ
My advice: Treat your partnership as a platform and create space for others to join.
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5. Measure, demonstrate and communicate impact
Credible numbers, such as the 132,000 women supported in ofi supply chains in 2025, demonstrate progress and help mobilize new partners. But meaningful reporting must go further.
For our programs with GIZ, reporting includes periodic updates and a final project report, with countrylevel insights feeding into global indicators. This creates a balanced picture of quantitative results and qualitative lessons.
Key practices to strengthen reporting include aligning early on KPIs, using simple reporting frameworks, pairing data with lived experience, tailoring insights to different stakeholders, and treating reporting as a learning engine rather than a compliance exercise.
My advice: Communicate outcomes clearly to provide momentum.
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A call to action for the Year of the Woman Farmer
Across every region where we work, the same truth holds: when women farmers have greater economic agency, communities can become more resilient and supply chains more dependable. Partnering to empower women farmers is not just the right thing to do; it is a strategic investment.
We invite donors, companies, investors, and implementing partners to work alongside ofi to codesign, cofinance, and scale proven models. Together, we can accelerate inclusive growth and build more resilient, climatesmart, and commercially viable supply chains.
About GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH)
GIZ is a federal enterprise with more than 50 years’ experience in international cooperation. It promotes economic development and employment, are committed to supporting energy and the environment, and work for peace and security, particularly in fragile contexts.
About ofi
ofi (olam food ingredients) is an operating group born out of Olam. ofi offers natural, value-added food products and ingredients, including those sourced through sustainability programs and initiatives, 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.
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