WAL-MART helps farmers in Guatemala

Planet Retail 11 Mar 2008

The global relief and development organization Mercy Corps, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Wal-Mart and the Guatemalan non-profit Fundación ÁGIL (Fundación Apoyo a la Generación de Ingresos Locales) have launched an alliance to improve the lives of small-scale farmers in Guatemala. The Alliance, a three-year effort, will build the capacity of small-scale farmers to help them move from traditional corn and beans production to demand-driven production to supply major retailers like Wal-Mart in Central America.

A first wave of farmer groups will supply retailers with targeted crops like tomatoes, peppers, potatoes and onions. "Wal-Mart is committed to the future of Central America, and we are proud to be part of efforts to promote economic growth and improve quality of life in the region," commented Ignacio Perez, CEO of Wal-Mart Centroamérica. "Through this Alliance, we will be able to buy more quality product directly from more small, family-run farms. Farmers' standards of living will increase, and our customers will benefit from access to a wider variety of better products at competitive prices."

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See also "Wal-Mart plants seeds of alliance with Latin farmers" Los Angeles Times 8 Mar 08 at http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-walmart8mar08,1,5943115.story