In Mexico, Proforest is working with PepsiCo, Nestle, Oleopalma (a palm oil production company) and Femexpalma (the Mexican Federation of Oil Palm producers) on a sector-wide collaboration focused on making Mexico’s palm oil more sustainable, with a particular focus on supporting smallholders.
The Mexico Palm Oil Holistic Program has three main aims: strengthening sector-wide awareness of sustainability; smallholder inclusion; and promoting ‘No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation’ (NDPE) policies. In 2 years, Proforest and Femexpalma have delivered training on the sustainable production of palm oil to 111 professionals, including mill workers, consultants, technicians and organizations, from 6 countries.
To support the NDPE element of the program, Proforest develops HCV and HCSA probability maps, used to classify areas of low, medium and high risk, for the four palm-oil-producing regions of Mexico. We have also trained more than 200 smallholders in the HCV approach, helping them to identify HCVs where they farm and to agree on a plan for monitoring and protection.