If you arrive on Sambava by plane, you will not miss to fly over the huge coconut plantations of SOAVOANIO before landing at the airport of the city. Indeed, the industrial coconut grove of SOAVOANIO Company, covers a total surface of 5000 hectares, which extends on both sides of the city of Sambava on a distance of 60kms bordering the Indian Ocean. It should be noted that the establishment of the coconut plantation has made it possible to reforest and valorize more than 2,500 Ha of bare savanna grounds and thus to improve the climatological environment of the region (contribution of a regular rainfall thanks to the evapotranspiration rejected by all the trees of this large coconut grove).

 

SOAVOANIO currently produces more than 12 million coconuts a year. Thanks to its "seed field" or "grain garden" of 47 Ha, SOAVOANIO is also able to provide high-performance hybrid seed kernels derived from the cross between dwarf coconut trees (from Malaysia) and large coconut trees (Greater West Africa). The hybrid coconut plants bear their first nuts at the age of 4 (compared to 7 to 10 years for traditional coconut trees). The kernel of the harvested nuts, transformed into copra after oven drying, is used to extract coconut oil used in the food and cosmetic industries. In addition, the by-products (coconut wood, fibers, nutshells ...) are recycled to become handicrafts that are currently highly valued by tourists.

 

 

This article was featured in Prime Magazine January 2018