Stronger Together and Bonsucro collaborate to develop responsible recruitment capacities in the Mexican sugarcane sector

To support producers to improve recruitment practices in the Mexican sugarcane sector, we have signed a memorandum of understanding with Bonsucro. The agreement commits us to share knowledge, collaborate to identify and overcome challenges around forced and bonded labour, and influence the Mexican sugarcane sector to take proactive measures to implement responsible recruitment. A key focus of the collaboration will be the distribution of a ‘Responsible Recruitment and Fair Work’ good-practice guidance toolkit and the delivery of a workshop designed by Stronger Together specifically for the Mexican sugarcane sector.

What is Responsible Recruitment?

Responsible recruitment is defined as recruiting workers in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner. It ought to protect the rights and wellbeing of individuals throughout the process, from recruitment, whilst at work and through to post-termination. With increasing global legislation around human rights due diligence, education around responsible recruitment and how to implement and embed good practice is key to building the resilience and reputation of the sugarcane sector. Sectors which are more at risk of irregular recruitment practices are those with a high reliance on temporary, seasonal and migrant labour. Promoting responsible recruitment comes under Bonsucro’s strategic aim to strengthen human rights in sugarcane farming and milling and is the core work of Stronger Together globally.

Mexican context

Sugarcane is one of the most important agricultural industries in Mexico – in 2022, over six million tonnes of cane sugar were produced making it one of the largest sugarcane producing countries. Given the scale of the Mexican sugarcane sector, it creates a lot of employment opportunities – according to a report by the United States Department for Agriculture the sector generates over 450,000 direct jobs, and indirectly benefits to more than two million people.

As a big country, Mexico has diverse landscapes, cultures, and climates. Sugarcane production isn’t limited to one region, it’s in 15 of the 32 states. That means the challenges the sector face can also be diverse, especially for human rights and specifically how workers are recruited.  For example, migrant labour with indigenous workers is much more common in states in the South of Mexico as it’s closer to the Guatemalan border.

In addition, the Mexican sugar industry is reliant on smallholder farmers, who own around 80% of sugarcane land. That means it can be a challenge to promote sustainable practices and decent working conditions as it’s hard to get access to and time with farmers.

Bonsucro is the leading global sustainability platform and standard for sugarcane, one of the world’s most important crops. They are a global force with the purpose of collectively accelerating the sustainable production and uses of sugarcane, focusing on climate action, human rights and value in the supply chain.

Stronger Together is a global not for profit organisation that focuses on responsible recruitment, to enable fair working conditions that are free from exploitation. It provides businesses with practical training, resources, business services and has a strong focus on collaborative programmes. In Mexico, Stronger Together supports agricultural businesses through training, business coaching, assessment services, and practical resources such as toolkits including template policies, procedures, guidelines and checklists. Stronger Together’s work in the Mexico sugarcane sector is funded by Periplo, a collaborative project driven by Fundacion Avina, which focuses on building bridges between the public, private and social sectors to transform the agricultural labour migration system into a fairer and more responsible one that respects human rights in each link of the sector’s supply chain in the corridors between Central America, Mexico and the United States.

What is covered in the agreement?

The memorandum of understanding sets out how Bonsucro and Stronger Together will partner. It has a comprehensive list of actions including knowledge sharing, the promise to engage with and influence actors in the supply chain, the development of tools, resources and workshops, and to create opportunities to provide strategic input into projects. These actions aim to create a collaborative environment to overcome challenges on responsible recruitment in the Mexican sugarcane sector

To really improve working conditions within the sector, it’s essential to work together with other actors involved. Through relationship building, Bonsucro has been able to connect to the farmers’ organizations who now champion sustainable practices in sugarcane with smallholder farmers across the country. Bonsucro is continuing this approach with Stronger Together in the memorandum of understanding that we signed. We have also agreed to influence and encourage sugar producers and businesses within the sector to take proactive steps to implement responsible recruitment. We will primarily do this through the awareness raising and practical guidance toolkit and workshops, but also raise these issues at events and take opportunities to promote ideas through our communications channels with thought leadership pieces.

Commenting on the memorandum of understanding, Benjamin Sandoval, Bonsucro’s Country Manager for Mexico, said, “We’re working hard to transform the sugarcane sector in Mexico, but we need organisations like Stronger Together that have the experience, skills, and tools we need to tackle recruitment practices. I’m really pleased to have this agreement in place – it gives us clear actions and a robust framework to collaborate. I think this will be a really positive step for the sector and I’m excited to get started.”

Angelica Barrera, Stronger Together Mexico Project Manager shared: “We are grateful to collaborate with Bonsucro and its key allies in the sugarcane sector in the country to promote awareness and capacity building on the importance of responsible recruitment and fair labour through the applied tools developed for sugarcane smallholders. Driving collaborative projects within the sector is relevant to Stronger Together’s work in Mexico.”

Find out more about Stronger Together’s Mexico and Costa Rica programme here or contact the team on latam@stronger2gether.org

Tags: Responsible Recruitment, fair work, sugarcane sector

Categorised in: responsible recruitment, Mexico, Collaboration and Partnerships