Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Makoto Katsura together with NEDA Deputy Director General Rolando G. Tungpalan, D A Unders ecretary Joel Rudinas, DTI Unders ecretary Merly M. Cruz and IFAD Country Programme Manager Sana F.K. Jatta led the opening ceremonies of the RP-Japan “KR2” Exhibit and IFAD Knowledge and Learning Market held at the SM Megatrade Hall 3 on October 12, 2010. The outputs of successful projects and applied best practices under the “Food Security Project for Underprivileged Farmers” formerly known as the “2KR” are being showcased on October 12 and 13, 2010.
This Project, previously known as the Increased Food Production Program (or 2KR Program), aims to focus on uplifting the lives of disadvantaged farmers. The National Agriculture and Fisheries Council (NAFC) of the Department of Agriculture spearheaded the implementation of the 2KR program. Initiated by the Government of Japan in 1977, the program has, since its inception, contributed to food self sufficiency and agricultural productivity in the Philippines , through a commodity assistance that comes in the form of farm inputs such as fertilizers. These commodities are sold and the proceeds are utilized to finance various agricultural and fishery projects as well as environmental and socio-economic development projects.
The counter-value funds of the 2KR are being administered by the NAFC-DA and the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA). The NAFC-DA share of the proceeds has been supporting agricultural and fishery related projects while NEDA's allocation focuses assistance to small scale, short-gestating, productivity-enhancing as well as environmentally sound projects.
The Project has boosted the entrepreneurial capacities of the rural folks nationwide through implementation of agri-business and grassroots level projects that foster not only agricultural but also social and economic development.
The conduct of the two-day event is spearheaded by the NEDA, in partnership with the Government of Japan and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
Ambassador Katsura said in his speech, “I believe the successful impact of this project has extended beyond the intended project beneficiaries and is continuously contributing to making a positive difference in improving the economic status of the people particularly in the grassroots level.”
This event marked another milestone in the longstanding cooperation between the Government of Japan and the Government of the Philippines and reaffirms Japan's commitment , as the top donor of the Official Development Assistance to the Philippines , to support the efforts of the Philippine Government to alleviate poverty and achieve food self-sufficiency.
Speech of Ambassador Makoto Katsura
Japanese Version
