Farmers earn from Cagdianao Mining’s greening program

MANILA, Philippines — In 2019, the year before the pandemic hit hard on the communities, Cagdianao Mining Corp. (CMC), a subsidiary of Nickel Asia Corp. (NAC), initiated a seedling production program that continues to benefit residents in the Dinagat Islands financially and proves that there is money in ‘greening’ and in environment protection activities.

To date, CMC’s “ECOmmunity Program” has already paid up some P4.4 M to participants of this livelihood program from the mining company’s five host barangays – Boa, Cuarinta, Diegas, Legaspi and Valencia – who produced more than one million seedlings and planting materials that CMC uses for its various mine rehabilitation and greening programs.

CMC initiated the “ECOmmunity Program” to directly engage community stakeholders in the company’s rehabilitation and reforestation commitments.

The program aims to uplift the lives of beneficiaries through contracted seedling production, raising awareness about the environment, its protection and conservation.

Nathalie Radaza, CMC’s community output-based program coordinator, testifies that many “ECOmmunity” participants have not had the chance before to hold in their hands such huge amounts of money. Radaza, who graduated in 2018 with a degree in Environmental Science from CARAGA State University, is proud to have joined CMC right after graduation to be a part of the company’s environmental protection and reforestation initiatives which she considers a dream come true.

The CMC mine site is located in the municipality of Cagdianao, at the Northeastern side of the province of Dinagat Islands. Its area of operations is within the Surigao Mineral Reservation.