Wellbeing of workers and rural communities

Agricultural workers and their communities play a fundamental role in the development of the agriculture sector and in food production systems as a whole. Ensuring their wellbeing is essential to the sustainability of production units and their commitment to human development.

According to ILO, approximately two-thirds of the world’s poor work in agriculture, and conditions in rural areas and agricultural landscapes limit workers and their families’ access to essential needs.

SAN sustainable agriculture programs establish the provision of these essential needs as the foundation for a decent standard of living in rural areas, including access to safe drinking water, access to basic education, access to health care, decent housing conditions and living wage.

We believe the participation of local communities is key for the success of sustainable management and conservation initiatives, for that reason our approach is also based on the concepts of legitimate land use rights, Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), community rights, and respect of socially, culturally, biologically, environmentally and religiously important areas.

Impact delivering

SAN offers a set of practical requirements that guide production units towards the empowerment of workers’ and communities wellbeing; including practices for:

• Providing safe drinking water and training for treatment options to workers and their families.

• Facilitating access to public health care and basic education services.

• Providing basic medical services and emergency attention for workers during working hours.

• Assuring that in those cases where housing is provided by agricultural operations, it offers good hygienic, safety and health conditions.

• Advancing towards the payment of a living wage according to the benchmarks published by the Global Living Wage Coalition (GLWC).

• Demonstrating legitimate land use rights.

• Application of FPIC processes.

Our Solutions are designed to ensure that farms fully respect the rights of local communities, secure favorable and sustainable livelihoods and divert pressure away from areas that are fundamental for local livelihoods.