Honduras

Fyffes delivers report on first-year impacts of Honduran melon strategy

Wed, 07 Sep 2022 13:22:23 GMT

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.

Fyffes extends medical help to Honduran communities during melon off season

Fri, 15 Jul 2022 14:39:31 GMT

Fyffes and its Honduran melon subsidiary Sol Group have launched a series of Community Medical Brigades to reach community members and seasonal workers surrounding their farms during the off-season.

The project began this month in Colonia Buena Vista, Marcovia, according to a news release. The program will be extended to another 14 communities in the areas of Choluteca and El Paraíso in the coming weeks.

The Community Medical Brigades are expected to reach a minimum of 1,000 people — approximately 500 children and 500 adults over 40 years of age — with symptoms of seasonal illnesses and/or diagnosed with underlying illnesses, according to the release.

Sol Group has four medical clinics on or near its farms in Honduras (three in Choluteca and one in Ojo de Agua), three doctors on the payroll, and five ambulances paid for by the company, including three new ambulances this year, as well as four nurses who are contracted during the season, the release said.
One of the main reasons to implement the new Community Medical Brigades is to extend medical care to community members, particularly temporary workers who find it difficult to access the medical clinics on the farms during the off-season.

The Community Medical Brigades include health awareness talks, prevention medicine and care focused on underlying diseases (dengue, diabetes, hypertension, kidney failure) and common seasonal conditions (respiratory and gastrointestinal infections), as well as awareness of the benefits of vaccination against the COVID-19, according to the release.

“In September 2021, we conducted a community needs assessment, interviewing 900 people from 14 different communities in the region surrounding our melon farms in Choluteca,” Sustainability Manager Michael Fletes, who also served as project leader, said in the release. “Community members told us that medical infrastructure in the region was not adequate. This project is especially important for women with underlying diseases whose opportunities to access medical services are limited and must leave the community to seek medical assistance, having to invest additional time and money to do so. We believe that this project will allow us to better understand current health challenges and, in the future, evolve towards programs with a more preventive and awareness approach for our prioritized communities.”

Fyffes melon subsidiary in Honduras receives social responsibility recognition

Thu, 07 Dec 2023 15:50:07 GMT

The Honduran Foundation for Social Responsibility has awarded the Socially Responsible Company Seal to Sol Group, Fyffes’ melon subsidiary in Honduras, for a second consecutive year.

The recognition was given for the company’s commitment to corporate social responsibility and the well-being of its workers and their communities, according to a news release.

Last July the Honduran Foundation for Social Responsibility carried out an audit of Sol Group’s operations in southern Honduras to evaluate the company’s compliance with seven key indicators of the INDICARSE tool, an international guide on corporate social responsibility, obtaining an average score of 96%, the release said.

The results were as follows:

Governance: 97%.
Human Rights: 100%.
Labor Practices: 92%.
Environment: 93%.
Fair Operating Practices: 99%.
Consumer Affairs: 100%.
Community Participation: 99%.

Since 2021, Sol Group in Honduras has gone through an exhaustive transformation process in which social responsibility, including labor relations, the environment, surrounding communities, and human rights have been the center for implementing new practices and developing new policies, the release said.

“We are very proud for being recognized as a socially responsible company for a second year,” Michael Fletes, sustainability coordinator of Sol Group in Honduras, said in the release. “This demonstrates our commitment and our progress in integrating sustainable practices in the different areas of our organization. We will continue working each day to further contribute to the well-being of the world, our workers, communities and other stakeholders.”

The Honduran Foundation for Social Responsibility’s seal renews the company’s commitment to continue working on the three fundamental pillars of corporate social responsibility that encompass economic, social and environmental responsibility, Genivaldo Pereira, general manager of Fyffes/Sol Group, said in the release.

Fyffes continues to fund school programs in Central America

Tue, 15 Nov 2022 07:43:38 GMT

Fyffes started a program in Honduras in 2016 that distributes school supplies to farm workers’ children, giving incentives for academic growth.

That program continues, according to a news release.

“A core focus of our mission is to be an empowering force in the communities in which we operate,” Julie Cournoyer, Fyffes global sustainability director, said in a news release. “This includes everything from providing well-rounded education, to funding teacher salaries and improving living conditions for families.”

In Guatemala, Fyffe’s FUNDASOL foundation, pays for desks, school supplies, more teachers, and sports and school facility upgrades.

“These children represent the future, so it’s very important to Fyffes that we affect positive influence on these kids from a very early age,” Cournoyer said in the release. “School supplies, building infrastructure, security — we recognize and support how crucial all of these factors are toward a successful learning environment.”