Thailand Smallholder Farmer © Joe Woodruff / Bonsucro

Smallholder Farmers

Some of the world’s biggest sugarcane producing countries rely on smallholder farmers for most of their volumes.

Some of the world’s biggest sugarcane producing countries rely on smallholder farmers for most of their volumes including Mexico, Thailand, India and Pakistan. The definition for what counts as a smallholder farmer varies across the world, but for us it’s a farmer with less than 25 hectares of land.

Some smallholders own much less land – in Pakistan, the average is two hectares and in India it’s less than a hectare. On the other hand, the average in Mexico is 25 hectares.

To widen access to certification, we launched the Production Standard for Smallholder Farmers in 2018. It’s based on our rigorous Production Standard but has been adapted to facilitate collecting data on a much smaller scale to ensure the cost for implementation is lower and inclusive.

Download the Production Standard for Smallholder Farmers

We are committed to supporting smallholder sugarcane farmers on their sustainability journey. We work with our members to offer guidance and advice and collaborate to deliver impact projects with smallholder farmers. Click on the pictures below to find out more about some of Bonsucro’s certified smallholder producers around the world.

Thailand
India
Pakistan

Mexico