In the last few months, the Cooperative of Southern Lowlands Hearts-of-Palm Producers (Coopalm) has racked up important achievements. One of them was the concession to use two seals on packaging for Cultiverde hearts of palm produced by Coopalm’s 486 members: Participation in Family Farming (from the Brazilian Ministry of Agrarian Development) and Bahia Family Farm (Department of Agriculture, Irrigation and Agrarian Reform).

Another important development was a report on the cooperative featured on the Globo Rural program (Globo TV). The report showed how hearts of palm production is changing the lives of hundreds of local farmers. In September, Coopalm also won the 2010 Cooperative of the Year Award in the “Quality Management” category, chosen from among 114 projects submitted by 91 institutions. This award recognizes initiatives based on innovation, creativity and efficiency, as well as making them benchmarks for the sector.