AgroAmerica

Archives 2011

Programa "Carbono Neutro" AgroAmérica

Agroamerica takes measures to reduce to zero pineapple Carbon print

Agroamerica takes measures to reduce to zero pineapple Carbon print

Costa Rica, November 2011. Agroamerica joined Costa Rica’s Ministry of Environment, Energy and Telecommunications, the Pineapple Exporters’ National Chamber and five other companies to measure the Carbon print of pineapple-producing farms, with the aim of reducing it until carbon-neutrality is achieved.

In the first phase of the initiative Agroamerica is measuring the carbon emission produced by fossil fuel use, as well as defining the locations the forest mass able to capture CO2. At the end of this data-gathering phase,which includes collecting an inventory of farm equipment and recording its fuel use, phase two will begin the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, which will eventually lead to lower fuel use and increased production of forested areas. The aim is to reach zero carbon emission in one year, and be the example for the other farms to follow.

Piña General Manager Luis Falcon said the company decided to join this program to satisfy their customers’ growing demand for more environmentally friendly products.

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capacitación con navieras AgroAmérica

Agroamerica employees were trained by shipping companies

Agroamerica employees were trained by shipping companies

Guatemala, December 2011. Agroamerica organized the workshop “Handling of Containers” with the shipping companies APL, Maersk and Seaboard Marine in Escuintla for 22 employees. The main objective of these trainings are to detect possible failures of the equipment on time, and to be able to avoid the damage of the fruit.

This training was given to the quality control personnel, the plant staff, and the workers in charge of control of refrigeration and transportation of the company.

Jose Gálvez, Vice President of Commercialization, said that these trainings are held so that all people who work in the transportation understand how refrigeration units work to be able to control the fruit along the land transportation: “With this procedures we offer to our clients a better quality in the product”.

Before the training, Agroamerica hired a consultant from the United States who has a degree in Post Harvest, to evaluate the process of refrigeration in the Company and he explained the importance of having control on this process to avoid problems with the quality of the fruit. “Every time we have more and better techniques” said Galvez.

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Donación de víveres AgroAmérica

Agroamerica donates food to 800 families affected by the tropical storm in Guatemala

Agroamerica donates food to 800 families affected by the tropical storm in Guatemala

Guatemala, October 2011. Agroamerica donated food to 800 families affected by the rains which recently struck Guatemala’s southwestern region. The company delivered food items including flour, beans, sugar, oil, salt and bananas, focusing on the poorest families cut off from main roads and unable to replenish their food supply.

Agroamerica employees, beneficiary women of corporate social responsibility programs and community leaders participated in delivering the donation. Magaly Cifuentes, a mother who received assistance in the Chiquirines village, declared: “This help that Agroamerica is giving us is excellent because we did not expect it and we are in great need. The bad weather continues and people are suffering a lot. There is no more corn to harvest, and because of the floods we cannot go shopping. Even with water up to our knees we come out and receive this assistance.”

Dina Barrios Díaz, president of the village of Ocosito COCODE (local Community Development Council), said: “People are very grateful because of the food delivered. You are the first to come and help us, and the food assistance went to the neediest people. I am very grateful with the company because they remembered our people who are in great need.” As wells are contaminated due to the floods, Agroamerica, together with Municipal Firemen, also delivered drinking water to prevent diseases.

Since the beginning of the rains in the southwestern area where the provinces of Quetzaltenango, San Marcos and Retalhuleu meet, Agroamerica has been monitoring the water level of rivers, has remained attentive to meet the needs of local inhabitants, and has maintained communication with its employees via mobile telephone text messages, sending safety tips and official information, as well as other activities the company has undertaken to assist them during the continued heavy rainfall.

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Cuidado del medio ambiente

Agroamerica promotes care for the environmental in San Jose Mogollon, Escuintla.

Agroamerica promotes care for the environmental in San Jose Mogollon, Escuintla.

Guatemala, November 2011. Agroamerica’s Corporate Social Responsibility Department donated plastic containers to the school and health center of San Jose Mogollon, in Escuintla. The plastic containers will be used to recycle garbage, which will help keep the town clean and build a culture of care for the environment among its inhabitants.

Agroamerica also obtained a permit from nearby Nueva Concepcion Municipality to allow the use of its garbage dump, and twice a month Agroamerica trucks will transport it there from San Jose Mogollon.

As part of this effort, on-going street cleaning drives are also organized in San Jose Mogollon, with the participation of members of the COCODE (the local Community Development Council), teachers, health workers, mothers and the community in general. This promotes team spirit and builds a sense of community identity, while ensuring that children can live and study in a safe and healthy environment.

“We are very happy with Agroamerica for the assistance they have provided, and for promoting a culture of cleanliness in the communities. We thank the owners for being interested in our development”, said Jesus Hernandez, President of the COCODE of San Jose Mogollon.

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Educación AgroAmérica

Agroamerica contributes to the education of its employees

Agroamerica contributes to the education of its employees

Guatemala, November 2011. Agroamerica celebrated the graduation of 19 kinder garden students from the Fernando Bolaños private rural school in the municipality of Caballo Blanco, Retalhuleu department.

The school was built earlier this year for the children of Agroamerica workers, and its innovative methodology has made it a model for rural schools. Teachers enthusiastically organized the graduation in which children wore gowns to receive their diplomas, as proud parents took pictures and local authorities watched. At the ceremony parents thanked Agroamerica for offering their children the opportunity to get a high-quality education.

District education supervisor Elda Orozco mentioned afterwards that this event will motivate parents to continue sending their children to school, so that in they graduate from elementary school in the near future.

Agroamerica President, thanked teachers and parents for dedicating the event to Fernando Bolaños (RIP), the founder of Agroamerica, who played a key role making the school a reality. “We wish academic excellence for these children, so they graduate from elementary school and then from secondary, and later continue on to university or vocational training”, added the President.

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Construcción de diez aulas AgroAmérica

Agroamerica helped build ten classrooms in the school at Aldea Ticanlú, in Tiquisate, Escuintla

Agroamerica helped build ten classrooms in the school at Aldea Ticanlú, in Tiquisate, Escuintla

Guatemala, October 2011. Contributing to education, especially of nearby communities, Agroamerica helped build ten classrooms in the Juan Pablo Hernández School in the community of Ticanlú.

This project, which will benefit more than 550 students and some 300 families, was made possible by the joint effort of the private sector, the Municipality of Tiquisate and community leaders, among them teachers, parents and members of the local COCODE (Community Development Council).

During the inauguration ceremony school director Milvia Emperatriz Pappa thanked Agroamerica and all those who contributed in the project. “Thank you in particular to Mr. Gustavo Bolaños and to Engineer García Salas because they have given the example to other companies to help the community.” Former provincial head of education Rony Peláez added: “It is good to hear that the private sector is interested in improving everyone’s lives, not only of its employees, but also their families and their communities.”

As a token of their appreciation, school teachers named two of the classrooms after Gustavo Bolaños and Fernando Bolaños.

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Visita de Embajador de Canadá AgroAmérica

The Canadian Ambassador visits Agroamerica farm

The Canadian Ambassador visits Agroamerica farm

Guatemala, December 2011. The Canadian Ambassador, Hugues Rousseau, along with Principal Commercial Aggregate Natalie Samson and Charge d’Affairs Christine Luttmann, visited one of Agroamerica´s farms in Escuintla, to know more about the banana growing and production process.

During the farm tour diplomats went to the banana plantations and a packing plant. They also visited the community of San Jose Mogollon in the municipality of Nueva Concepcion, where they met with members of the COCODE (Local Community Development Council) as well as staff from the health center, together with Agroamerica´s workers. In the community hall COCODE members explained the work they do with in conjunction with Agroamerica, community leaders and women, on health and education topics.

To end the program, Walter Tello, Community Relations Officer for the department of Escuintla, explained the different corporate social responsibility programs of Agroamerica.

Natalie Samson, Principal Commercial Aggregate, said: “The visit to the farm was a unique experience. We are very impressed by the comprehensive range of CSR programs, Agroamerica´s good environmental practices and the efforts made to improve the living standards of their workers.”

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Academia de conductores Profesionales AgroAmérica

Agroamérica opens its own academy for professional drivers -ADECOP-

Agroamérica opens its own academy for professional drivers -ADECOP-

Guatemala, December 2011. Agroamerica now has its own Academy for Professional Drivers, ADECOP, which will train and give a university certificate issued by the Rafael Landivar University to all company drivers and offer to drivers from other organizations interested in it.

With this academy, Agroamerica will improve road safety and contribute to the country’s development. Productivity of the companies will also improve, as will the image and driving practices of participating truck drivers. At the same time the incidence of accidents at work caused by inexperienced drivers will be reduced.

“By creating this academy, we want to give an opportunity to many young people who have not been able to study, and then employ them in the company. We want graduating students to be prepared for their work, and to practice the values of the company: honesty, responsibility and team work, among others”, said Rodrigo Perera, President of Agroamerica’s transport division.

Some of the study courses in the program include driving regulations, inspection of cargo vehicles, industrial safety, road safety, safe procedures of loading and unloading, among others. Topics on human development will also be included in the program, to conclude it with a holistic training on values.

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estudio con médicos de Estados Unidos AgroAmérica

Agroamerica conducts a study with doctors from United States

Agroamerica conducts a study with doctors from United States

Guatemala, December 2011. Agroamerica organized the visit of 12 doctors from United States to conduct a study about the health, education and lifestyle situation of the communities bordering the southwestern departments of Quetzaltenango, Retalhuleu and San Marcos.

The objective of this study is to have a better understanding about the lifestyle of the people in these communities and their basic needs, so that Agroamerica can better contribute to their development.

These doctors, together with Agroamerica personnel, conducted focus groups with community leaders and surveyed more than 300 mothers from eight communities: Los Encuentros, Chiquirines, El Pomal, Carrizales, Colonia Barillas, El Palmar II, Santa Fe and Valle Lirio, where most of Agroamerica workers live.

At the end of the week-long activity, a free medical fair was held dedicated to the children of four communities. Noelia Hernández, nurse of the Health Center of Chiquirines, said: “I believe it was really good to be able to take care of 400 children.”

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Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutricional AgroAmérica

Agroamerica contributes to Guatemala’s Food and Nutritional Security and the Attainment of the Millennium Development Goals

Agroamerica contributes to Guatemala’s Food and Nutritional Security and the Attainment of the Millennium Development Goals

Guatemala, November 2011. For the past two years Agroamerica has been implementing the Better Families program in 12 rural communities across the country. A self-help program, Better Families focuses on improving the health conditions, nutrition and social behavior among beneficiary families. Among its goals are to reduce malnutrition and infant mortality rates, improve school performance among boys and girls, as well as to improve productivity and community development. To date 11,900 people have benefited from this program, including 750 mothers and 880 children.

Better Families targets women directly, who after training become relays of important information within their families and their communities. They learn about self esteem, health, hygiene, nutrition, care for the environment and child growth, among other topics. To verify knowledge competence program technical staff make periodic home visits, where they also conduct weight and height measurements of children under five years of age, and learned practices are reinforced with activities such as medical and gynecological fairs involving the whole community.

Walter Tello, program coordinator in the South Coast, noted that he has observed significant changes in the communities where Better Families is implemented. Beneficiary families have shown to have improved health habits, including the increased use of safe water for consumption. Also, the program has improved the capacity of participating mothers to make better decisions regarding their family?s health, which has resulted in fewer cases of diarrheal diseases and lower maternal and infant mortality rates. With improved self-esteem, women are better able to identify early the symptoms of breast and cervical cancer, as well as to improve the nutritional intake of their children’s diet.

Participating woman Odilia Guzmán Soto from the village of Chiquirines expresses her satisfaction with the program: “I feel very happy because I have learned how to take better care of my children, to improve the health habits around my home, and to better value and appreciate myself as a woman and as a person.”

Agroamerica also provides assistance to special cases of child malnutrition, offering medical help, food and care during their convalescence. The company is part of the Provincial Food and Nutritional Security Commission (CODESAN), which along with government entities and other NGOs is in the process of designing a Food and Nutritional Strategic Plan to address the problem of malnutrition in the coastal region.

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