Zamboanga del Norte was ranked as the poorest province in the country in the 2003 Family Income and Expenditure Survey according to the National Statistical Coordination Board.

This prompted the provincial government to conduct a poverty mapping activity to identify who the poor people are, where they are living and why they are poor. The mapping showed that the poor are engaged in agriculture and forestry. The LGU also found out that 58.55 percent of its hilly lands are already bereft of forest cover. This has increased the vulnerability of communities to multiple hazards like landslides and flashfloods. Further, it was learned that productivity in the uplands was dropping by ten percent annually due to rapid soil degredation.

Because of these findings, the provincial government embarked on a multi-sectoral, anti-poverty project in cooperation with the LGU’s of six municipalities and the Department of Agrarian Reform – Western Mindanao Community Initiative Project (DAR – WMCIP) to reduce poverty by increasing farm production and income. The Project was successfully implemented in upland areas. When the partnership with the DAR – WMCIP ended, the provincial government continued to implement the program with the cooperation of the stockholders. They called it the Hillylands Green Rehabilition and Livelihood Program (Hi-Green ) which was launched in December 2005.