Title: Oxfam protects farmers in Africa

" According on the wet weather across the midwest this fall whether that's put a damper on the harvest of crops like corn and soybeans. Farmers have been forced to spend money on things like grain dryers and hundreds of gallons of propane propane needed to fuel those machines. Still most American farmers have crop insurance to protect them when the weather doesn't help -- out but. And now Boston based Oxfam America is extending similar protection to farmers overseas that global development organization is made. Drought insurance available to about 200 households in Ethiopia. Oxfam America's Marjorie victor works on the program she is our guest tonight on business -- Marjorie welcome thank you. So it's -- about 25 years since most Americans became aware of the terrible famine. And Ethiopia and I was surprised to read after all the time nearly fourteen million people are still going hungry there. And farmers facing really dire consequences. And I ate well unfortunate."

" Eight countries facing increasing droughts and but they're more severe and we think this is due to climate change. The good news is that -- humanitarian agencies like Oxfam and governments are becoming more effective at. Delivering assistance but climate change is making the job harder so we have to come up with new techniques so tell us a little bit about this program that got off the ground up believe this year offering insurance to a handful of farmers. In Ethiopia. Right so this is a pilot when your highlights and we're actually going in expanding next year because it -- successful. And the idea is to offering tree index insurance to farmers that allows entities insure against brain poor rainfall. And because you're insuring its rainfall this is a really cheap. Wait for insurance companies to insure them and -- actually have to go out to every farm and to measure individual loss. So this brings down the overhead costs and it's very affordable farmers. Tell us a little bit about these people what kind of farmers they are I mean from what I read a lot of these are peasant farmers a lot of them are women. And your organization really had to work to build up some trust with that absolutely well we've been working in Ethiopia from more than sixty years and in this community for a couple of -- more than a decade. So we have a lot of trust with them and we worked with them to actually design a product. Work with insurance company and we have something that's functional today and you were able to get some help from corporate America to. Right these insurance programs yet so that's the three Alex is -- an insurance company that's based in Switzerland but also has operations in the last. Is there reinsurance company and me -- insurance is based here in his -- local insurance company what kind of response have you gotten from the farmers there that have. Have bought the insurance. Tremendous response I -- we've been so pleased because. Insurance wasn't a concept that was completely warranted that before and this is a country where -- and it nearly 80% live on less than two dollars a day. And there taking up the sophisticated. Financial products and very large numbers so it that but the pilot program started earlier and in September it was expanded tells about the expansion yes. Well so we did we worked in one village in the last year and in this next year will be working in five additional villages in Ethiopia. And that expansionist being funded by a Rockefeller Foundation and mystery and -- And you said you have been working in Ethiopia for over fifty years this is just a small slice of the incredible work that Oxfam is doing. Absolutely and we're really excited about this we think this is an innovative way of -- dealing with drought problems in climate change adaptation. And them -- major -- is that armor to paint labor so they are able to you afford a lot more Richardson could otherwise. And they -- community projects that help them reduce their vulnerability to -- in the future so they don't have a lot of cash on hand so they're able to get to work what a couple of days to get these insurance and yes that's right that's right -- things that are valuable to the entire community and and on to themselves as well. Oxfam America's Marjorie victor thanks so much for joining us I think it."