Progress report for
Coconut Industry Development for the Caribbean
Achievement at a glance
The partnership has resulted in several concrete results, including improved governance at regional, national and local level; a proven enabling structure for empowering smallholder farmers with the strong engagement of women and youth; increased readiness for sustainable investments in the region; mobilization of communities and stakeholders; and the establishment of a knowledge exchange network. \\r\\n\\r\\nAlthough some challenges have been identified, including the required support needed to sustain engagement of smallholder farmers, the approach has proven to be quite successful in engaging stakeholders at all levels, and for encouraging product and market diversification in order to mitigate economic, social and environmental risks.Challenges faced in implementation
The main challenge has been the extensive level of support required to sustain the partnership, including forming agreed upon goals and maintaining stakeholder commitments. The inclusion of smallholder farmers in the overall planning and decision-making is a particular challenge as they are not always able to leave the farm, thus leaving them out of the process and undermining the guiding principle of the partnership of strong stakeholder engagement.Beneficiaries
The beneficiaries are smallholder coconut farmers, plantation operators, owners and workers, communities, young people and women in coconut product processing and marketing, and Small & Medium Enterprise coconut products manufacturers.