Japan to fund agri dev’t projects in PH

MANILA – Tokyo is funding three separate agricultural projects in the Philippines through Japanese non-government organizations, the Japan Embassy in Manila said Wednesday.

Japanese Ambassador Koshikawa Kazuhiko signed on March 17 grant contracts worth about USD1.62 million (approximately PHP78.5 million) with three Japan-based groups — OISCA (Organization for Industrial, Spiritual and Cultural Advancement) International, the Japan Agricultural Exchange Council (JAEC), and Ikaw-Ako.

OISCA’s project, amounting to USD574,214 (approximately PHP27.7 million), will focus on improving the skills of sericulture farmers in Benguet, Nueva Vizcaya, Aklan, Iloilo, Antique, Misamis Oriental, and Negros Occidental.

Japanese NGO Ikaw-Ako, on the other hand, will receive a grant worth USD263,644 (approximately PHP12.7 million) to commercialize strawberry cultivation and encourage farm tourism in Patag, Silay City, Negros Occidental.

The project will lay out an income option for the residents by using Japan’s strawberry cultivation technology and expertise in the operation of farms focusing on agri-tourism.

Meanwhile, JAEC will share Japan’s technology and best practices in reducing production costs as well as improving the vegetable distribution process. The project is worth USD789,856 (approximately PHP38.1 million) and will focus on Central Luzon.

Japan has so far funded 55 projects in the Philippines under its grant assistance for Japanese NGO programs that started in 2002.

In a statement, the Embassy said these programs would not only strengthen friendship between the peoples of the Philippines and Japan but also bolster the existing strategic partnership between the two countries.