Harvesting Labour Rights
Stronger Together and World Vision Mexico’s collaborative work for agrobusinesses in Sinaloa and Jalisco
Behind Mexico’s agricultural exports — the tomatoes, cucumbers, aubergines and avocados that reach tables across North America — are hundreds of thousands of farm workers whose rights and working conditions too often go unseen. At the same time, the businesses that grow and export these products are operating in a rapidly shifting regulatory environment, where international buyers and governments are demanding higher standards of supply chain transparency.
Harvesting Labour Rights set out to address both realities at once. Funded by the Labour Programme of Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) and led by World Vision Mexico, the project ran from 2023 to 2026 across the states of Sinaloa and Jalisco. From December 2024 to September 2025, Stronger Together joined as a strategic partner, contributing 12 hybrid training sessions on Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) for agribusinesses in both states and providing coaching sessions on how to apply these resources in an agricultural context. The results, verified by an independent final evaluation, demonstrate the value of that collaboration.
Closing ceremony for workshops for agribusinesses in Culiacan, Sinaloa – June 2025.
A Project Built on Purpose
The project is one of the first Canadian Government-backed initiatives in Mexico under the USMCA framework and was designed around three interconnected areas: strengthening labour rights capacity amongst workers; training employers on responsible recruitment and HRDD; and supporting the development of governmental protocols to institutionalise labour and child rights protection.
Stronger Together’s Contribution: Training, Tools and Methodology
Stronger Together’s 12 hybrid training sessions — combining in-person and virtual delivery to maximise reach across both states — were built around the 6 stage-framework of Human Rights Due Diligence. Participants developed practical capacity to identify, mitigate, and prevent risks related to forced labour, child labour, and hidden labour exploitation within their supply chains, as well as the knowledge to meet the annual transparency reporting requirements of the Canadian Act to Combat Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains (S-211).
All participating businesses were given access to Stronger Together’s dedicated tools for the Mexican agricultural sector: the Toolkit for Responsible Recruitment and Fair Labour and the Responsible Recruitment Checklist — a 48-step self-assessment instrument for agribusinesses and their labour supply chains, both freely available for download.
Convening the Sector: Interstate Meeting in Mazatlan, Sinaloa
Beyond the training programme, Stronger Together contributed to the broader knowledge-sharing architecture of the project. On 8–9 July 2025, we participated in the Meeting on Labor Rights and Child Labour in Mazatlan, Sinaloa — an inter-state forum convening around +100 stakeholders from Sinaloa, Jalisco, Veracruz, Chihuahua, Puebla, Mexico City and other states, to build consensus on labour rights and child labour prevention in the agricultural sector.
Stronger Together moderated a panel bringing together Agrícola Belher, United Nations Mexico (UNHR), and the Mexican Association of Protected Agriculture (AMHPAC) — a cross-sector dialogue that exemplified the kind of multi-actor engagement needed to move from training to lasting systemic change.
Due Diligence Panel at the Interstate Forum with speakers from UN Mexico, Agricola Belher and AMHPAC. July 2025
The Results: What the Evidence Shows
For the Private Sector
The final evaluation (September 2025 – February 2026) shows that training outcomes translated into measurable operational change:
| 80% | of private sector participants reported high or very high knowledge of child labour, forced labour, OHS and labour rights. |
| 92% | reported confidence in applying HRDD tools in day-to-day operations. |
| 21 | due diligence mechanisms implemented across companies to prevent risks and improve working conditions. |
| 330 | managers, supervisors and executives completed their full training. |
| 143 | company staff trained specifically in the use of HRDD mechanisms and tools. |
Infographic developed by World Vision Mexico based on the project’s outcomes evaluated by an independent third-party.
For Farm Workers and Communities
The project’s impact extended directly to the workers at the heart of agricultural supply chains:
| 8,215 | farm workers reached through labour rights and forced labour information campaigns |
| 4,695 | completed training on child labour, forced labour and their labour rights |
| 2,491 | supported by the project to access social protection services |
| 92% | reported satisfaction with their basic labour rights — up 41 percentage points from the baseline of 51% |
| 1.97M+ | people reached across both social media campaigns (“The Good Comes First” and “Social Protection Services”) |
At the Institutional Level
The project’s ambition extended beyond individual businesses to the policy and coordination frameworks that underpin sustainable change:
- 2 official policy instruments approved, including the Procedure for identifying, reporting and referring cases of child labour in Jalisco and the corresponding Protocol in Sinaloa.
- 3 inter-institutional coordination mechanisms improved for social protection services
- 112 officials from both states’ Secretariats of Labour and Social Welfare trained in child labour, forced labour and protocols
- 254 public officials from other governmental bodies trained in labour rights coordination mechanisms
Why This Matters: The Regulatory Landscape Is Shifting
For agribusinesses and agricultural exporters, the compliance landscape is evolving at pace. Canada’s Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act (S-211) already requires covered entities to report annually on their due diligence measures. Similar mandatory HRDD legislation is advancing in the European Union and the United Kingdom. International buyers are increasingly incorporating supply chain transparency requirements into their sourcing criteria.
The question for any business with exposure to international markets is no longer whether to implement HRDD practices, but how effectively.
A Replicable Model for Multi-Sector Collaboration
By pairing Stronger Together’s practical tools and training expertise with World Vision Mexico’s deep community and child protection networks — and by engaging government institutions and business associations in both states simultaneously — the project created durable change across multiple levels of the system at once.
This multi-stakeholder approach, linking private sector capacity building with public sector accountability and farmworkers outreach, is precisely the model that international frameworks such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights are designed to encourage.
Looking Ahead
The final evaluation identifies clear pathways to scale: training middle management and supervisory staff; developing resources in indigenous languages; extending outreach to workers’ communities of origin at the south of Mexico; and expanding the model to smaller farms and upstream suppliers.
Stronger Together is committed to continuing this work. We welcome conversations with agribusinesses looking to strengthen their HRDD practices and prepare for international regulatory requirements, as well as donors and implementing partners interested in scaling responsible recruitment and supply chain capacity building across Mexico and Latin America.
For agribusinesses and exporters:
For donors, NGOs and implementing partners:
Related content:
- World Vision Mexico and Stronger Together collaborate to promote HRDD in Mexico
- World Vision Successfully Concludes the “Harvesting Labor Rights” Project – Veggies from Mexico
Data source: Harvesting Labour Rights Final Evaluation, September 2025 – February 2026.
Funded by the Labour Programme of the Government of Canada. Views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Government of Canada.
Tags: collaboration, World Vision, Farm Workers, Agrobusinesses
Categorised in: Mexico, Agriculture
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