Jalisco Seeks to Train Agricultural Exporters

In an effort to strengthen the competitiveness of Jalisco’s agricultural sector and ensure formal employment and respect for the rights of agricultural workers, the Jalisco State Secretariats of Labor and Social Welfare (STyPS) and of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER) held a technical training session on the Agricultural Export Labor Certificate (CLA) and the federal government’s VELAGRO platform.

Labor Secretary Ricardo Barbosa Ascencio explained the importance of maintaining ongoing coordination with the federal government and the private sector to facilitate the program’s implementation, address the specific needs of rural areas in Jalisco, and improve working conditions for those employed in that sector.

“There will be ongoing dialogue between the avocado growers of Jalisco and the federal Ministry of Labor to gradually shorten the learning curve from this year’s pilot program. The Secretary of Agriculture also offered to represent the berry growers in the state of Jalisco,” said Barbosa Ascensio.

As part of the certification process, state agencies will assist the agricultural sector as the new guidelines—published in September in the Official Gazette of the Federation—regarding the operation of the Velagro Platform take effect, in order to obtain the Agricultural Export Labor Certificate.

For his part, Eduardo Ron Ramos, Jalisco’s Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development, explained that labor certification represents an opportunity to provide greater certainty to international buyers, strengthen the agri-food value chain, and make progress in opening new markets.