Justice for All

Photo © JupiterImages 2007

CHIHUAHUA, Mexico—With no credit, cooling systems or means of transport, small-scale apple growers in Mexico don't have access to the quality apple market. Desperate for income at the end of the growing season, they typically have no choice but to accept rock-bottom prices from middlemen.

As many as 70 percent of family growers in Chihuahua have sent at least one family member to the United States to find work. Catholic Relief Services Mexico and a Chihuahan farmers' cooperative started a project with the goal of helping growers earn a livable wage and not be forced to migrate.

In the initial phase, the families pooled their apples and stored them in a temperature- controlled space until the price cycle peaked. The net price for their apples more than doubled, and the farmers paid back the loans from the project, keeping it sustainable for the next year.

"Maybe we can make enough money so that the kids will come home to me now," says Gilberto Molinar, father of four adult children who migrated to the United States to escape economic hardship.

Help Small Farmers Earn a Fair Profit

The project provides funding and technical assistance for small-scale farmers' associations in Mexico. Farmers learn about sustainable agriculture techniques and work to diversify their production and find new markets so they can sell their crops at profitable prices.