Blueberry sector incorporates day care centers for harvesters’ sons and daughters

Blueberry sector incorporates day care centers for harvesters’ sons and daughters

The second child care center for harvesters’ sons and daughters opened its doors this week in Tucumán. The sector is already working to set up other centers in production provinces such as Entre Ríos, Corrientes and Buenos Aires. “This is our national social strategy,” they announced.

The Blueberry harvest will have a strong start at the beginning of October in our country. Prior to the period of intensive activity, RENATRE (National Registry of Rural Workers and Employers) inaugurated one new center CRECER (RENATRE Centers for Rural Care and Education) on September 9, which will provide support to 80 non-school-age children, from infants to 3 years old, in the town of Santa Lucía, department of Monteros, Province of Tucumán.

Even though the center was inaugurated, it has not been authorized yet due to the restrictions in force throughout the country. However, from the Argentine Blueberry Committee (ABC), it was announced that in view of the upcoming harvest they will implement measures adapted to the pandemic in order to have this and other care centers authorized.

“We are already designing assistance strategies adapted to the pandemic to support boys, girls and teenagers. These measures are going to be implemented in 4 companies in the country which are going to monitor the PAR project, which is our Responsible Agricultural Production plan”, explained the president of ABC Federico Bayá at the inauguration ceremony in Tucumán in a videoconference.

In order to manage child care centers, RENATRE entered into an agreement with Santa Lucía club and the Association of Blueberry Producers of Tucumán (APRATUC), which is the responsible regional entity in that province. The program foresees that children will be provided with adequate food, medical check-ups, and a range of sport and cultural activities.

  “We want to duplicate the model in other municipalities because it has a direct impact on our community, it improves the life quality of rural families and this is thanks to the participation of all stakeholders: RENATRE, the provincial government, APRATUC and the union,” said Francisco Estrada, president of APRATUC.

The blueberry harvest has a high incidence of female labor countrywide, “that is why from the ABC we consider different options so that our male and female workers have a place for their children while they go to work. We have an unconditional commitment which is to prevent child labor,” said Bayá.

The Argentine Blueberry Committee is the national entity that groups the regions of the main production provinces: Buenos Aires, Corrientes, Entre Ríos and Tucumán. Throughout the country, harvest begins in August with early varieties for export and then intensifies in October and November. For this year, the sector has already designed and implemented a harvest protocol throughout the country to guarantee the sanitary safety of its workers.

“We want to duplicate the model in other municipalities because it has a direct impact on our community, it improves the life quality of rural families and this is thanks to the participation of all stakeholders: RENATRE, the provincial government, APRATUC and the union,” said Francisco Estrada, president of APRATUC.