Sual planting more high-value crops

SUAL, Pangasinan, Philippines – This coastal town, home to a power plant, is eyeing to become the province’s capital for coconut, cacao and coffee plantations as  town folks have embarked on a five year tree planting program.

The program is in partnership with San Miguel Energy Corp.’s foundation and the Philippine Coconut Authority.

It involves the planting of one million coconut, cacao and coffee trees.

“Perhaps, it is only our town, although small compared to others in land area, that we envisioned to plant one million trees of coconut, cacao and coffee,” Sual mayor Roberto Arcinue told The STAR.

“The project will encourage factories to set up their plants here, thereby creating livelihood, employment and investment which is my ultimate dream,” he said.

Arcinue said the town has about 7,000 households whose family members have the chance to uplift their living conditions through this project.

He said San Miguel Energy Corp.’s foundation readily agreed to become the sponsor of this project.

San Miguel Energy assumed administration of the Sual power plant on Nov. 6, 2009.  It supplies electricity to the Central Pangasinan Electric Cooperative.

Sual municipal agriculturist Florencia Guanzon said that  as of July, about 6,500 coconut seedlings and another 8,500 cacao seedlings had been delivered.

San Miguel Energy hired agricultural technicians to brief beneficiaries composed of household owners, pupils, teachers, owners of semi-commercial and commercial idle lots and others before planting the distributed seedlings for proper care.

The environmental program of San Miguel Foundation Inc. covers the protection of land, water, and air.

On a smaller scale, the foundation conducts tree-planting projects on areas identified by different San Miguel plants.