The Kennemer Group's cacao-based agroforestry programme has been awarded the first nature-based solutions carbon credits in the Philippines. The programme, which operates on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, was verified and approved under Verra's Verified Carbon Standard Program and Climate, Community & Biodiversity Standards Program after more than two and a half years of review and validation.
The MinTrees project, which covers around 2,000 smallholder cacao farmers and 1,000 hectares of new plantings across various regions of Mindanao, offers local farmers a new source of income and development support. Led by Kennemer Eco Solutions, the smallholder-based farmer programme provides farmers with cacao, fruit trees, forest seedlings, technical training, and a guaranteed off-take arrangement through Kennemer Foods.
The MinTrees project is represented in the market by Ecosphere+, a leading provider of high-integrity carbon procurement solutions.
As the first verified nature-based solutions carbon credits in the Philippines, this project is a milestone for the country, unlocking climate benefits and providing incentives to rural communities for land restoration and building sustainable livelihoods. It serves as a model for projects that fight changing climates while offering numerous benefits to thousands of smallholder farmers.
Read about: The Philippines' battle against deforestation: progress and challenges
Through this programme, farmers have directly benefited from training and the provision of cacao seedlings and fruit and forest trees, which have been a big help in their livelihoods. The project offers a new source of income and development support to farmers in the Mindanao region.
The Kennemer Group, a company involved in agriculture and climate solutions through a landscape approach combining rural enterprises, forest conservation, and land restoration, partakes in profitable commodities farming, sustainable land management, and reforestation projects. With more than 20,000 smallholders engaged in these projects to date, the Kennemer Group has evolved into an integrated agriculture, forestry, financing, and distribution group based on the principle of balancing environmental protection with economically sustainable development and community partnership.
This programme offers a new model for climate protection and creating sustainable livelihoods in the Philippines, with the potential for collaborative partnerships among the government, private sector, and communities to further conserve remaining forests, restore degraded lands, and provide sustainable livelihoods to upland communities.
DGB Group’s impactful projects aim to restore nature at scale while helping communities develop sustainable livelihoods. Our projects are developed in collaboration with communities to ensure their long-term success.
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