Cargill and ASSIS, supported by the Philippine Coconut Authority, launched on August 22 at Barangay Bagacay, Alabel, Sarangani Province the CocoGrow Project which aims to rejuvenate Sarangani’s coconut industry by planting 75,000 coconut seedlings across three key municipalities: Alabel, Malapatan, and Malungon.
Focused on revitalizing coconut production, the project will introduce faster-growing, high-yield coconut varieties to replace aging, low-yield trees, and those damaged by recent natural calamities. Spanning 535 hectares of coconut farms, this initiative will directly benefit 500 smallholder farmers, with 50 percent of them being women.
In addition to replanting, the project promotes sustainable agricultural practices designed to boost local economies and increase farmer incomes.
Seven farmers’ cooperatives and associations have been identified as key stakeholders.
These groups will actively engage in capacity-building workshops to enhance their skills in critical areas such as improving consolidation processes, strategic and business planning, financial management, and cooperative governance.
