Yon Jairo Hachito - Banana Worker at Agricola Indira, Colombia
After 20 years working in banana cultivation, Yon Jairo has seen how a single storm can wipe out crops and leave families without work. Today, he's helping build more resilient farms that can better withstand a changing climate.
7 Questions with Yon Jairo
Tell us about yourself, Yon Jairo?
"My name is Yon Jairo Hachito. I am 42 years old, I have two children aged 16 and 9, and I've spent around twenty years working in banana cultivation at Agricola Indira."
What does banana farming mean to you?
"It's our livelihood. It supports our families and our communities. Everything depends on having healthy crops and stable work."
What changes have you seen in the climate?
"Sometimes too much of anything causes damage, because too much water damages the crops, too much sun as well."
"There are workers who are working in strong sun and then suddenly heavy rain arrives. Our health can be somewhat deteriorated by these changes."
How is climate change affecting banana-growing communities?
"After a recent windstorm, many neighbouring farms suffered total losses, a high percentage of banana losses."
"What does this mean? Many families are left without their daily livelihood. There won't be work. There will be companies that send their workers home because there's nothing to do. The plantation would collapse."
What are you doing on the farm to protect the environment?
"We have planted cover crops. It makes our soil much more fertile, it prevents erosion, it prevents us using agrochemicals like insecticides."
What benefits have you seen from this work?
"We maintain the moisture needed for banana cultivation. We keep pests away, we hardly use insecticides anymore, and that guarantees our fruit is cleaner and more appealing for our buyers."
What gives you hope for the future?
"There's a generation coming after us, and they want, and must find, an environment that's completely clean."
Protecting livelihoods in a changing climate
For banana-growing communities in Colombia, climate change is not a distant threat. It's already affecting farms, workers and families. Extreme weather events, including powerful windstorms, intense rainfall and prolonged periods of heat, are becoming increasingly disruptive to banana production.
Yon Jairo has seen the consequences first-hand. After a recent windstorm, neighbouring farms experienced what he describes as "total losses." When crops are destroyed, the impacts ripple far beyond the farm itself. "Many families are left without their daily livelihood," he explains. "There won't be work."
Changing weather patterns also make day-to-day farming more difficult. As Yon Jairo puts it, "too much water damages the crops, too much sun as well." Workers face these challenges directly, often spending long hours outdoors in rapidly changing conditions. These pressures threaten not only crop yields and incomes, but the long-term resilience of farming communities across the region.
Building healthier soils with Fairtrade
At Agricola Indira, efforts to adapt to climate change focus on improving the health of the farm's natural environment. One important approach has been the use of cover crops, planting vegetation between banana plants to protect and enrich the soil.
According to Yon Jairo, these cover crops deliver multiple benefits. "It makes our soil much more fertile, it prevents erosion, it prevents us using agrochemicals like insecticides," he says. Healthier soils are better able to retain moisture during hot periods and are less vulnerable to damage from heavy rainfall, helping farms become more resilient to changing weather conditions.
The results can already be seen on the farm. "We maintain the moisture needed for banana cultivation. We keep pests away, we hardly use insecticides anymore," explains Yon Jairo. These practices support both environmental sustainability and crop productivity, helping farmers respond to climate-related challenges while reducing reliance on agricultural inputs.
Supported through Fairtrade sustainability initiatives, measures like these are helping banana producers strengthen their resilience to a changing climate. For Yon Jairo, the importance of this work goes beyond today's harvests. "There's a generation coming after us," he says, "and they want - and must find - an environment that's completely clean."
Our impact stories
See the real-world impact of Fairtrade through powerful stories from farmers, workers, and communities around the globe. Visit our Impact Stories page to discover how fairer trade transforms lives, builds resilience, and drives lasting change.
