Fyffes has announced that its pineapple farm in Costa Rica, ANEXCO, was recently granted the Sustainable Agriculture Standard Certification by Rainforest Alliance (RFA) for the farm’s sustainable practices.
Approximately 1,100 workers, eight million boxes of pineapples, 3,239 hectares of farmland and protected forest areas are now RFA-certified.
The fruit firm highlighted that the Sustainable Agriculture Standard certification is rooted in four key sustainability principles: effective planning and management systems, biodiversity conservation, natural resource conservation, and improved livelihoods.
ANEXCO received RFA’s certification after a rigorous process of implementation and internal evaluation, followed by an external audit and validation conducted by CERES certification body, the compnay said.
"The Rainforest Alliance certification reconfirms our high level of social compliance and environmental commitment," said Wolter Van Der Kooij, general manager, Fyffes Pineapples.
"As we look towards the future, our ambition is to continue to improve the farm for its workers, its community and local natural habitat.”
ANEXCO Acquisition
Headquartered in Dublin the company acquired ANEXCO in 2008 and through the years it said that it has implemented important sustainable initiatives to continuously improve the standards for its workers, communities, and environment.
Its workers are represented by a permanent committee and several of them are members of multiple unions.
The Costa Rican farm has received recognition for its health and safety management systems and is currently rolling out a gender equality pilot program.
Transportation for farm workers is provided to a wide network of communities, and scholarships and school materials are provided to local children.
These initiatives have had a positive impact on farm workers and the community, yet the company said that ANEXCO doesn’t want to stop there and that it aims to continue to evolve and improve its standards.
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