Spanish group SanLucar’s Tunisian farms, La Cinquième Saison and Flor’Alia, have both obtained the GRASP assessment certificate, which recognises good social practices in the agricultural sector.
GRASP, which stands for 'GlobalGAP Risk Assessment on Social Practices' complements the international norm GlobalGAP for social aspects like workers’ health, safety and welfare.
In accordance with national and international legal provisions, GRASP assesses questions like salary, overtime hours, holiday entitlement, protection of minors, the election of a workers’ representative, or the compliance with legal requirements in contracts.
The majority of SanLucar’s producers in Spain have already passed the assessment, and now the two Tunisian farms have joined in on this voluntary initiative.
“The wellbeing of people and the respect for nature are essential for SanLucar,' said Michael Brinkmann, international CEO of SanLucar. We live the corporate responsibility naturally, it’s part of our DNA. We also understand that everyone should be involved. Therefore, we encourage all of our partners, no matter where they are, to prioritise the fulfillment of good social practices. Moreover, if this corporate philosophy is also shared and valued by external organisations though evaluations like GRASP, we are proud and satisfied.'
SanLucar started its journey in Tunisia in 2008, when discovering what it has called one of the best places in the world for growing tomatoes: the region of Gabès located in the South of the country. This is where the La Cinquième Saison farm is located, whose farmlands benefit from a geothermal spring 1,200 meters deep underground.
The farm Flor’Alia, on the other hand, is situated in the North of the country, where SanLucar cultivates berries. This is the first large scale site for the production of raspberries in Tunisia.
