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Interviewed by Veggies From Mexico, Angelica Barrera, Program Manager in Mexico for Stronger Together, shares her professional experience and her approach on the challenges and opportunities faced by the farming industry in the areas of human rights, social responsibility, and sustainability.

With a career focused on social innovation and collaborative work between companies, organizations, and communities, Angelica has led initiatives intended for improving working conditions and promoting responsible hiring practices across different regions of Latin America. During this conversation, she addresses the work of Stronger Together, the importance of corporate due diligence, the trends shaping international markets, and the role farming companies play in building more responsible and transparent supply chains.

1. Would you mind sharing with us a little bit about your professional experience?

My professional journey has been guided from the beginning by one belief: that it is possible to build systemic solutions to complex problems when people come together through partnerships that focus on both people and the planet.

I graduated from a bachelor’s degree in finance by UNAM, where I had a course developed with Ashoka—the global network of changemakers— that completely redirected the course of my career towards social and environmental entrepreneurship. Later, I continued my studies with a postgraduate degree in City Management and Creative Entrepreneurship at the Faculty of Economic Sciences in Argentina, which broadened my perspective to social innovation and regional development across Latin America.

Currently, as Program Manager for Stronger Together in Mexico, I lead training and advisory services for the agro-industrial sector focused on human rights and corporate due diligence.

I have implemented workshops and strategic programs along with partners such as Rainforest Alliance, Bonsucro, World Vision Mexico, Periplo-Fundacion Avina, and AIM-Progress, by promoting more responsible and transparent supply chains aligned with international standards, to ensure that both people and the planet thrive in the main stage of global trade.

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2. What has it been like to work with social impact organizations across Mexico, the United States, and Latin America?

It has been a journey of constant learning, where each stage has added a new layer of understanding to the complex challenges of the relationship between businesses and human rights across the region.

My starting point was Mexico, where I worked directly with rural and indigenous communities on specific projects: installing biodigesters with Mayan communities in Yucatan, rainwater collecting systems with wixarika communities in the Northern mountains of Jalisco and supporting groups of Zapotec women in Oaxaca as they rebuilt their businesses after the 2017 earthquakes. In each case, I learned the same lesson: the best solutions are co-designed with the communities, not to them.

Those experiences prepared me for a significant, large-scale challenge: working with Fair Trade USA, from the US, on a virtual training project for growers and workers across eight countries in Latin America. Through tablets and educational content available in over five languages, we created short videos to promote labor rights, occupational health, and financial education for nearly 50,000 people in over three years. The pilot program started in Mexico during the pandemic, which turned the project into an ongoing learning experience in adaptation and innovation.

Today, at Stronger Together, all those experiences come together: the collaborative design approach I learned through community work, the ability to operate at a regional scale with technical strictness and a practical message, and a genuine will and commitment to improving conditions in the farming sector through a tripartite approach.

3. Could you tell us a little bit about Stronger Together and the countries where it operates?

Stronger Together is a social impact organization founded in the United Kingdom in 2013. Our mission is to support businesses and supply chains in identifying, preventing, and addressing labor exploitation and forced labor. We currently operate in three continents and six countries, with programs adapted to the legal and production context of each market, but with a common approach: helping companies change long-standing practices and not only having them being legally compliant.

In Mexico, our work focuses on the farming industry for exports, where there is a significant population of migrant farm workers who temporarily relocate from communities in Southern Mexico to agro-industrial regions in the North and Bajío areas. We work with farming companies, growers, and their supplier networks to implement responsible hiring practices, accessible complaint mechanisms, and labor policies aligned with international standards.

What sets Stronger Together apart from other players within the ecosystem we operate on, from a business point of view: our main conversation partner is a company, and from there we help drive continuous improvement within their operations and throughout their supply chains. This allows us to generate structural transformations which could only be possible through inspections or external pressure alone.

4. How has it been like to personally work in the social sector supporting farm workers in Mexico?

It has been one of the most meaningful and rewarding experiences of my career. Joining the migrant farming sector through Stronger Together, after years of working with rural and indigenous communities in Mexico gave me a deeper understanding of a reality that often goes unseen: the one of those who temporarily relocate to make possible the food production that reaches supermarket shelves across the region.

Learning about these realities up close comes with a great deal of responsibility, and I am grateful for the trust that companies place in us to support their continuous improvement efforts. That trust has allowed us to better understand the challenges workers face on a daily basis, as well as the decisions made by mid-level managers, and from there, to connect international standards to processes which truly apply to the Mexican field, not as abstract requirements, but as practical tools for change.

What I appreciate the most is that this work demands staying close: to companies, to workers, and to the challenges the industry is facing around the world. It is through that closeness that the work takes on its true meaning.

5. How important do you think social responsibility is for farming companies?

Social responsibility in farming sector is not a shallow addition for the operation of a company. It is a key part of long-term success. Farming companies within the agri-food sector manage value chains that rely directly on human labor under conditions of high vulnerability: seasonal work, geographic mobility, and informality, which exposes them to labor, reputational, and business risks which, if left unaddressed, they may affect access to international markets and their ability of a company to operate transparently and sustainably.

From a strategic perspective, companies that adopt responsible practices often see clear benefits: lower employee turnover, higher productivity, less exposure to penalties, and stronger positioning with export clients who demand compliance with international standards. Major retail chains in Europe and North America are no strangers to the way in which the commodities they are buying are being grown.

But beyond the business narrative, there is an ethical responsibility which cannot be ignored: agro-industrial companies are in a relevant position to create a positive impact in both the communities of origin and destination for migrant workers. When a company offers clear contracts, access to benefits, and simple complaint mechanisms, it is not doing anybody a favor. It is recognizing the dignity of the people who make farming production and harvesting possible. Ultimately, that is the foundation of any sustainable and resilient business.

6. What impact have organizations such as Stronger Together had in advancing social responsibility in Mexico over the past years?

In the past few years, Stronger Together presence in Mexico has contributed to several meaningful advances. First, we have helped positioning responsible hiring and human rights due diligence into the farming business agenda, a place where, historically, the discussions around labor rights were often limited to inspections and penalties rather than voluntary improvement. Today, a growing number of companies within the sector understand that improving labor practices is not a threat to competitiveness, but rather a condition to sustain it.

Second, network organization has been essential. As part of PERIPLO—a multi-sector network focused on migrant farm workers—, the work of different organizations multiplies: protecting the rights of migrant workers, sharing methodologies, developing common tools, and working together with both the government and private sector players to create an impact that no single organization may be able to reach on its own.

Another significant contribution has been the development of skills within companies themselves: human resources teams, compliance managers, and operations managers who, from training programs, contribute with a different perspective on their relationship with workers and on the shared responsibility they have throughout their supply chains within this working relationship. When that shift in perspective takes hold, it lasts the longest.

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7. Why is it important for companies in Mexico to comply with labor regulations related to social responsibility?

Complying with labor regulations is, first, both a legal and ethical responsibility. Mexico has a strong legal framework in this area, the Federal Labor Law, NOM-011-STPS-2000 for farm workers, the 2019 labor reform, and commitments made under the USMCA related to labor rights and working conditions. Failing to comply with these requirements does not only expose companies to administrative penalties; it also places them in a risky position in audits with international buyers and trade review mechanisms which are becoming increasingly active.

But the strongest argument is not the regulatory, but the human one. Labor laws exist to protect people who, in many cases, have limited negotiation power with regards to their employers. When companies respect these standards— or even when they go beyond them—they are not doing a favor. They are fulfilling a responsibility that comes with being an economic player with power and influence over real people and real families.

Also, regulatory compliance creates operational certainty. Companies that document their practices, maintain organized contracts, and keep records of their hiring processes are better prepared to respond to any verification process, whether it comes from local authorities or international clients. In that sense, labor compliance and business competitiveness are not in conflict with each other: they strengthen each other.

8. Do you believe market trends will increasingly focus on companies that have social responsibility certifications?

Yes, no doubt about it; and this trend is already a reality in many market segments, not something that may happen in the future.

A truly clear example is the recently Modernized Global Agreement between the EU and Mexico, which represents a major opportunity for Latin America: the possibility of reducing tariffs by as much as 83% over the coming years. However, this access comes with a clear requirement: demonstrating compliance with the European Union Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), which demands companies to identify, prevent, and address adverse impacts on human rights and the environment throughout their supply chains. For Mexican farming companies exporting into that region, this is not a distant possibility: it is already becoming a requirement that is shaping the rules to access global markets.

At the same time, ESG criteria, environmental, social, and governance, are becoming increasingly decisive in investment decisions, in farm financing models, and in trade relationships with major retail chains. European and North American buyers are increasingly asking for verified evidence that their suppliers comply with international standards. In this context, social audits, responsible hiring frameworks, and labor management systems are no longer simply compliance costs and they are turning into  business authorization and long-term investment instruments.

The relevant question for Mexican companies is not whether this trend will continue, but how quickly will it do so within its segment. Those who anticipate the transition —by  investing in their systems, training their staff, and improving supply chain traceability—  will be in a stronger position to compete. Those who wait for external pressures to act will face more expensive barriers, and less time to adapt.

From Stronger Together, that is exactly the process we work with: We help companies move before change becomes urgent, because that is when learning is deeper and results tend to last longer.

9. What are the main success stories you can share from Stronger Together?

One of the stories that best reflects the potential of our work is the continuous improvement journey we have supported with over 150 agro-industrial companies which, starting with an honest assessment of their hiring practices, progressively adopted policies that prohibit hiring fees, provided written contracts for workers, and established clear and confidential complaint mechanisms. While these changes may sound technical, they have a meaningful impact on the daily lives of thousands of workers who arrive to work with a much clearer understanding of their working conditions.

Another significant achievement has been creating spaces of trust between players which historically did not sit at the same table: farming companies, civil society organizations, labor recruiters, and representatives from communities of origin. PERIPLO is one of those spaces, and its very existence is a success story. It demonstrates that the complex challenges surrounding migrant farming recruitment can be addressed collaboratively, with each participant contributing from their own perspective without waiving their perspective towards achieving greater and more systemic progress.

In that sense, the most important success stories are not always the most visible in terms of metrics. Sometimes they happen whenever an HR manager understands the actual experience of a migrant worker for the first time, or when a company chooses to renegotiate their agreements with labor recruiters to ensure that no costs are passed on to workers. These are the kinds of changes that do not make the headlines, but they improve real working conditions, and that is where the true impact of our work can be measured.

10. Is there anything else you would like to add?

After becoming a part of our webinars and workshops, companies often ask us where to start their continuous improvement journey. That is why we have developed a Responsible Hiring Manual and Checklist that includes 48 compliance steps for the farming sector, divided into the strategic framework of the six stages of the HR due diligence, which can be downloaded for free from our website:   https://www.stronger2gether.org/mx/

Finally, we would like to cordially invite the private sector to our Multistakeholder Forum on Business and Human Rights, taking place on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., at the Club de Banqueros in the Historic Center of Mexico City.

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The forum will bring together businesses, government authorities, and worker representatives in a tripartite format to discuss responsible recruitment, labor migration, and human rights due diligence. It is a space for dialogue and shared learning among multiple stakeholders—not a diagnostic exercise—where every perspective adds value.

Pre-registration is available at: www.stronger2gether.org/foro-multilateral-sobre-empresas-y-derechos-humanos

Companies that participate in forums like this position themselves as leaders of positive change in a regulatory and commercial environment that is evolving rapidly. We look forward to welcoming you!

Thank you for this interview and for helping amplify the voices of the industry through a more human and personal outlook.

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