In its search for an effective development approach, the local officials embarked on an innovative redirection of strategies by focusing on the major strength of the city-its prime agricultural lands. A three-pronged development approach was initiated in 1992 namely: economic development through agriculture, cooperative development, and infrastructure development.

Building growth-inducing infrastructure provided the lynchpin through the full scale concreting of the city's barangay farm-to-market road network in 1993. Agricultural development followed through the production of high value crops, livestock, timber and fruit trees through the Plant Now-Pay Later scheme. Cooperative development further institutionalized financial assistance through coop organization, supervision, training, and monitoring, when most banks considered small farmers as the “least bankable” people in the community.

To date, 83% of the total barangay road network were concreted, reaching 80% of the total population of Pagadian City. Cooperativism reached 70% of the total potential beneficiaries and 15% for the agricultural component as well. The program's effectivity is expected to go beyond the current administration, due to sheer strength of the community-based cooperatives, community-based beneficiary organizations, and the trust fund established from the returns of the project.

This program is recognized as a Trailblazing Program, a finalist for the 1998 Galing Pook Awards.