Tropical produce importer and distributor Fyffes published the first-year results of its Honduran melon business transformation plan. This new strategy demonstrates Fyffes’ commitment to a more responsible and ethical melon business in Honduras.
Changes outlined in the report benefit more than 5,000 employees and temporary workers, as well as local communities, according to a news release.
“We are pleased with the progress that has been made in the last 12 months,” Genivaldo Pereira, new general manager for Sol Group, said in the release. “Without a doubt, this is the beginning of a process of continuous improvement in which we are totally committed, not only to continue strengthening our sustainability strategy, but also to promote and strengthen the commercial and economic opportunity for Hondurans in the communities that surround our farms.”
A new melon strategy in Honduras
In late 2021, new local management was hired at Sol Group, a subsidiary of Fyffes. Additionally, management expanded to include operations, compliance, human resources, sustainability, and labor and farm relations. With the support of Fyffes’ executive leadership, this new management team is leading a transformation strategy in Honduras to improve working conditions, environmental management, community development initiatives and corporate governance, the release said.
In the past year, notable changes to the Honduran melon business at Fyffes and Sol Group include, according to the press release:
Working condition improvements
- Implemented risk assessments, analysis and standardized procedures to ensure worker safety, fairness and performance;
- Invested in large-scale worker training and new operating procedures;
- Provided correct personal protective equipment for all workers;
- Eliminated the practice of hiring seasonal workers through foremen.;
- Established a new hiring protocol with the supervision of a human resources department;
- Disposed of 12,000 tons of plastic and agricultural waste accumulated on farms; and
- Participated in an external evaluation with the Honduran Foundation for Corporate Social Responsibility.
Social security investments
- Partnered with unions to pay temporary workers a bonus of approximately 80% of the Honduran social security payment;
- Launched community medical brigades to provide off-season medical care to 1,000 people from 15 communities;
- Maintained five medical clinics on or near company farms; and
- Offered off-season opportunities to temporary workers through a corn growing program.
Community development
- Completed an assessment of Choluteca to identify community investment needs and priorities;
- As a result, several major community investment projects were initiated in 2022, including:
- Fyffes Gender Equality Program, with over 1000 workers completing the program;
- A school donation project benefitting 138 families;
- A corn cultivation and food security project benefiting 202 families; and
- A protective equipment and COVID-19 training program for schoolchildren.
Freedom of association updates
- Confirmed a union at each of Sol Group’s melon farms in Choluteca, with the majority of employees and temporary workers represented by the unions;
- In April 2022, the unions elected new boards of directors, responding to feedback from the international labor rights movement, ensuring that the boards comply with both Honduran labor law and International Labor Organization conventions.
- Facilitated trainings on Honduran labor legislation and ILO conventions by a labor expert to the new boards of the unions representing temporary and permanent workers.
