Oxfam: Temporary fruit farm workers live in poverty

Temporary workers on fruit farms in the Brazilian Northeast are being subjected to degrading practices and low pay, despite the sector being made up of well structured companies boasting a number of certifications. The conclusion can be found in a report entitled Frutas doces, vidas amargas (“sweet fruits, bitter lives”) released this week by nonprofit Oxfam Brasil.

“Many companies have several important certifications, like Rainforest, Fair Trade, and Global Gap, specific for supermarket chains. Even in certified companies we found extremely bad practices, even degrading working conditions—especially pesticide contamination, intimidation, and sometimes the absence of a bathroom, cafeterias… In other words, poor infrastructure,” said Gustavo Ferroni, in charge of Oxfam’s document.

Oxfam also considered the chains of three major fruits—melon, grape, and mango—in Rio Grande do Norte state and the irrigated perimeter of the São Francisco river valley—the cities of Petrolina and Joazeiro. “What we saw is that fruit farms there are technologically advanced and capable of meeting the world’s most demanding markets, but, in terms of local development, results are rather insufficient.”

The fruits reaching the tables of people in Brazil and overseas generate roughly $9.5 billion a year, according to official data, but they fail to ensure regular conditions for most field workers.

“We saw there’s a situation of enormous vulnerability among temporary workers, and that they live in poverty. This is quite surprising because the fruit chain is relatively organized, with high levels of formalization, but what we discovered is that virtually half [of these people] work less than six months in the year and have no other opportunities in the region,” Ferroni said.

Melon, grape, and mango

Melon, grape, and mango harvests last for six months, and are assigned a temporary work regime. However, most workers in these regions find no other source of income, which is why they have to make do with the pay from the harvest period to gain their livelihood throughout the year.

Taking this into account, Oxfam split the amount received by these workers during the melon, grape, and mango harvest periods by the 12 months of the year, and the result averaged a monthly $169.9, $114.9, and $144.2, respectively, all of which below the current minimum wage of $243.68. “The money they make on the fruit farms brings them to the 20 percent poorest section of the population. This is their state if they find no other source of income for the year,” Ferroni said.

The report brought to light the story of Carmem Priscila Silva Souza, 25, who wakes up at 5 am to work in melon production in Rio Grande do Norte during the harvest period. “If I don’t find any other job, I have to wait until the next harvest begins. Last year, I just stayed at home,” Silva told the Oxfam researcher. She is married and the mother of two four-year-old twins. When she is employed, she earns no more than a minimum wage.

Income distribution

One of the solutions mentioned by Ferroni is a pay increase in the harvest season so they can prepare for the rest of  the year. Another suggestion is the creation of more opportunities in the region so these people may no longer be so dependent on the harvest work.

“We found situations in which workers starve; the month is over and there’s nothing to eat; they have to choose between buying food and buying medicine for their children—situations we thought could have been overcome,” Ferroni said.

Income discrimination against women in the field, Oxfam believes, along with the lack of protection against contamination, the temporary work, and inappropriate conditions—especially for women—are the factors behind why so many are prevented from climbing out of poverty.

“The argument that any job is better than no job is a weight on the workers’ back that leads them to accept any employment and exempt the economic sectors from their responsibilities. That’s not fair. The fruit chain generates wealth; this wealth must be well distributed,” said Katia Maria, Oxfam Brasil’s executive director, who noted that fruit farms are hailed as a symbol of the potential of Brazil’s semi-arid—a modern production chain that generates thousands of jobs.

To her judgment, however, there are problems that must be tackled to ensure a dignified life for those harvesting the fruit that comes to our table. “And supermarkets have the duty and the responsibility of helping changing this appalling scenario we’re casting light on,” Maia declared.

Shared responsibility

The study points out that Brazil’s biggest supermarkets—Carrefour, Pão de Açúcar, and Grupo Big—hold 46.6 percent of the country’s wholesale market, adding they can pressure their suppliers to ensure better working conditions for temporary workers on fruit farms. Appropriate conditions and salaries must be part of the criteria adopted by supermarkets when selecting their suppliers.

“Of course producers are not off the hook, and they have a lot to improve as well, but supermarkets have a great power of influence,” Gustavo Ferroni pointed out. “Supermarkets have the economic and political power to influence these suppliers, which are also major producers in the region, in a bid to make them improve their practices.”

Grupo Big said in a note it is committed to preserving a supply chain in compliance with social and environmental legislation. The group develops a qualification and certification program covering all of its suppliers of perishables, with pesticide risk management for suppliers of fruits and vegetables.

The system, the company reported, goes beyond the tracking of food, and also encompasses farm auditing and waste analysis. “Regarding the studies in question, [the firm] declares that all its fruit suppliers in the Northeast have globally recognized certificates, like the Global Gap Risk Assessment of Social Practice, or are audited by WQS,” the note reads.

“In line with the existing conditions in its contracts, the company repudiates any conduct that falling under slave labor or any conditions different from those outlined under the law. The company reiterates it carries out yearly audits along with the suppliers of the Sabor & Qualidade protocol, and, in the case of Carrefour, good practices are ensured by Global Gap, an international agribusiness certificate,” the note reads.

The Pão de Açúcar group did not reply prior to the publication of this article.