program. 36 Guatemalan farmers currently participate in this project. PROGRAM BENEFITS - Fair and on-time payment - Direct procurement (without middlemen) - Ongoing training - Logistics counseling - commercial-agricultural - Sowing and harvest planning - Agricultural infrastructure design
variety, quality and freshness in its assortment of fruits, vegetables and grains. At the Agricultural and Livestock Trade Fair held in Guatemala in 2017, Walmart recognized the work of suppliers who achieved the suggested goals with commitment and effort and who stood out for their good practices, quality, food safety, process improvement and increased production. SUCCESS CASE - TIERRA FÉRTIL One of the suppliers who was rewarded was Aníbal Morales, who grows strawberries in Tecpán.
Walmart Guatemala’s operation purchases 31 million dollars of fruits and vegetables annually, which is equivalent to over 47 tons of produce. Over the last year, procuring fruits and vegetables from local growers meant the creation of 4,000 direct and indirect jobs in inner cities of the country, which benefits more than 1,237 farmer families. In the specific case of grains, in 2017 alone, Walmart purchased over 7 thousand tons of the different grain varieties that the chain offers to its customers, which is equivalent to USD$ 4, 899,447.00. The choice, purchase, quality control and distribution of fruits, vegetables and grains for the different formats of the Walmart store is done by Hortifruti, a plant that specializes in this. Hortifruti is part of Walmart and has the FSSC 2200 certification, which guarantees food safety. Hortifruti has a long history and vast experience in this field and, as part of its business strategy, in 1978 gave life to Tierra Fértil in Costa Rica; later, this program was expanded to other countries of the region. A distinguishing element of the Tierra Fértil program is that farmers can be a part of it and receive technical counseling and support for an unlimited amount of time, provided they remain active as suppliers. Also, as part of the activities to support Guatemalan farmers, Walmart holds an Agricultural and Livestock Trade Fair through which business rounds with the growers from different regions of the country are held for the purpose of opening new opportunities to become suppliers for the supermarket chain, and thus offer to customers more
Aníbal Morales started planting and harvesting strawberries in three “cuerdas” of land. He currently has three manzanas. He started selling to Walmart in 2007 and to this date continues to benefit from Tierra Fértil. He started by delivering 300 boxes per week. His production has now grown 400% and delivers 1,200 boxes per week. At the beginning, this was a family business, but his sustained growth has allowed him to give work to more persons in his community.
IT IS VERY SATISFACTORY FOR OUR COMPANY TO KNOW THAT WE CAN HELP CREATE NEW BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH THE AGRICULTURAL AND LIVESTOCK TRADE FAIR; WITH THE TIERRA FÉRTIL PROGRAM WE CREATE NEW PARTNERSHIPS AND TAKE DEVELOPMENT TO A LARGE NUMBER OF FAMILIES AND THE COUNTRY 77