This programme aims to improve the productivity and quality of life of over 6000 smallholder farmers in Mexico. It delivers information, technology and building technical capacity to help farmers replicate agricultural best practices, specifically around fertilisation, irrigation and pest control. The project extends the work of the MAS-CAÑA Programme, which provided training events for Pantaleon’s sugar mill Mill Panuco in Tampaulipas, as well as one-on-one technical assessments and action plans for suppliers. Barry Callebaut recognised the programme and sponsored its replication in El Mante Mill in Veracruz. Farmers who have applied their learnings from the programme achieved a 40% higher productivity per hectare than those who did not.

Green Rural Loan is a new line of financing exclusive to farmers who have proven their sustainability credentials through Bonsucro certification or participation in TopCana (Socicana’s sustainable development programme). It grants interest rate discounts on loans in line with how sustainable the farmer’s production practices are, allowing farmers to save up to 20% on the cost of a loan in a year. The project aims to incentivise farmers to invest in sustainability. More than 120 sugarcane farmers already have access to the programme, and more than USD $1.33 million have been awarded to date.

Sugar Woman’s is a programme generating employment opportunities in agriculture for Guatemalan women. Ingenio La Union helps the women develop the skills they need to build their career, from corporate induction to technical training and transferable skills, and technical evaluation. The project has involved creating schools to help the women gain the required knowledge, and a diploma from the Technical Institute for Training and Productivity, which has weight and recognition in Guatemala. In total there are 85 women working across two harvesting groups – now 21% of sugarcane harvested at Ingenio La Union is harvested by women.

Diversifica Tereos aims to promote diversity within Tereos’ workforce, mapping actions to include minorities across the different parts of the company, and creating the Diversity Executive Committee to steward the work. In recent years Tereos has focused on improving the representation of women in its workforce. It has run technical training courses for women in machinery operation and maintenance – 65% of participants on the first course in Tanabi became employees for the following harvest after completing their training. In 2020, it also ran its first Young Apprentice class exclusively for women, with 119 participants receiving training to perform technical field and industrial work.

Programa Integra aims to facilitate the adoption of environmentally sustainable practices and technologies on sugarcane farms. The programme is based on the Sustainable Sugarcane Guide, a sustainability assessment tool which helps producers define actions they can take to make their practices more sustainable. Programa Integra provides technical support and training to growers on their sustainability journey, while empowering them to become catalysts for change amongst their peers. In the last three years, the number of production units participating has grown significantly, from 186 to 501 units. More than 8,200 plants have been planted to strengthen biological corridors, and over 50 growers have received training on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

This initiative aims to increase the organic content of soil, while addressing environmental pollution and increasing sustainable employment opportunities. Instead of burning sugarcane residue, which degrades soil health and releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, the waste is shred in-situ on the fields. It helps the soil retain moisture, suppresses weeds and promotes beneficial microorganisms and nutrients. The waste is shredded by young entrepreneurs from nearby villages after the harvest, using machines purchased with financial support from EID Parry and the International Finance Corporation.