Each March, agricultural companies from around the world take a moment to give appreciation to their workforce in celebration of Farm Worker Awareness Week. For companies such as Divine Flavor and its parent company, Grupo Alta, this week is especially important as both companies put a huge emphasis on embracing their workforce with excellent social programs.
Grupo Alta, one of the largest grape growers in all of Mexico, has been producing for more than 30 years, and within that time, it became one of the first Fair Trade Certified farms in Mexico, helping generate more than $6.5 million in community development funds from the Divine Flavor group. The community development funds have been allocated to various community projects such as health facilities in the worker hometowns, medical and dental services at the farm, and scholarship programs for the workers and their family.
At one of Grupo Alta’s largest vineyards, Pozo Manuel, is an employee by the name of Luis Carlos Romo Badilla, and he is one of the production coordinators but also assists as the right hand of the main facility manager. Romo Badilla’s journey at Grupo Alta started with his mother, Maria Jesus Badilla Lopez, who has been working for Pozo Manuel as a field supervisor since it opened in 2012.
While Romo Badilla was finishing his degree in horticulture, his mother was able to get him an interview at Grupo Alta, and soon after he started working for the company. It was at this time, the fair trade committee at Pozo Manuel elected to allocate community development funds toward scholarship programs for some of the workers or worker’s children attending university.
“When I was in my third year of university, I received a scholarship from Grupo Alta,” said Romo Badilla.
“I remember meeting engineer Alan Aguirre (CEO and president of Divine Flavor/Grupo Alta), and he told me I could keep the scholarship until I finished — but the only condition was I kept good grades. I was very grateful and I was able to support myself with certain school needs because of the scholarship.”
Romo Badilla said the company has supported his passion and has given him the opportunity to create a career within Grupo Alta: “I have a passion for what I do and I’m proud to work for Grupo Alta who is a very strong agricultural company and is driven to provide a quality of life for its workers. Grupo Alta is a company of respect, passion, loyalty, and discipline, and these are the same values they want from their workers.”
Romo Badilla has been with Grupo Alta for the past five years, and during that time, he has worked side by side with his mother, who continues to operate as Pozo Manuel’s field supervisor during grape season. As a production coordinator, Romo Badilla is responsible for coordinating the staff in the vineyards, teaching them the pruning techniques, selection of grape bunches, and how to effectively manage a grape season from start to finish.
Romo Badilla’s inspiration comes from his family. He said his mom has been a role model for him throughout his life. “My family is everything to me and there are not enough words to express my gratitude I have for my parents,” he said.
“My mother has taught me so much about cultivation which is a reason I know so much about it today. I remember when I was younger sitting at the dinner table and she would talk to us about what she did that day in the vineyards and I think this is what inspired me to get into this line of work. She’s 65 and she continues to work in this beautiful profession and sets an example for all of us at Grupo Alta each day,” he said
For Divine Flavor and Grupo Alta, the area of social responsibility is a very important topic. Each season, the farms of Grupo Alta employ more than 5,000 people to work amongst their operations, whether it’s seasonal or full-time employees. Each location is audited and certified by Fair Trade, a company that oversees businesses or farm companies that are implementing and complying with social, economic and environmental protection standards.
“Not only during Farm Worker Awareness week, but the entire year, we are proud to acknowledge our workforce,” said Michael DuPuis, quality assurance and public relations manager of Divine Flavor. “As it was mentioned with Luis Carlos Romo Badilla above, there are many stories like this within our industry and other companies who invest in social responsibility, like ours. It’s these types of stories which provide hope, clarity, and sustainability for our industry and the future to come.”
