Japanese Ambassador Toshinao Urabe congratulates Program Officer Kiyoko Takahashi of Oxfam Japan, after signing the grant contract for “ Construction of Small-Scale Agriculture Facilities for Climate Change Adaptation,” on February 20, 2012 at the Embassy of Japan. The ceremony was witnessed by the officials of Oxfam Japan and the Embassy of Japan.
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Japanese Ambassador Toshinao Urabe and Ms. Kiyoko Takahashi, Program Officer of Oxfam Japan signed the grant contract for ‘Construction of Small-Scale Agriculture Facilities for Climate Change Adaptation' at the Embassy of Japan on February 20, 2012. The project, amounting to US$ 399,263 (approximately 17 million pesos), is funded through the Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects, a small-grant funding program of Japan's Official Development Assistance (ODA).
In central Mindanao, unusual weather conditions have been found almost every year recently. The commencement of rainy season is seen starting later, and even in dry season, a substantial volume of rain is seen often. The drought and flood brought about by these weather conditions have affected agriculture. The project sites, Municipality of Balabagan, Lanao del Sur, and Municipality of Esperanza, Sultan Kudarat, have also witnessed the harvest reductions of primary agricultural products in these 15 years.
The leading product in the Municipality of Balabagan is cassava. Farmers dry cassava in the sun so that they can sell it at higher price. Fresh cassava roots contain much moisture, so it takes a lot of time to dry it. Due to the sudden rain in dry season that have been more frequently seen in these years, it is getting more and more difficult to finish the process as planned. As a result, farmers cannot provide their products for distributers smoothly, and are forced to face income decrease. To deal with the hardship, six (6) post harvest facilities will be constructed in the municipality, each equipped with a set of storehouse and cassava dryer. One (1) cassava grating machine will be also purchased and shared by farmers.
In the Municipality of Esperanza, rice and corn are primary products. Here also, farmers dry the crops for better sales and longevity of products. Due to the lack of post harvest facilities, they often use roads for drying crops. This method can cause damages to crops, and their values can be largely affected. In addition, there are limited concreted irrigation canals in the municipality. If the canal is not concreted, water is absorbed in the soil and the number of farmers who can utilize water can be limited. To abase these difficulties, three (3) post harvest facilities with a set of storehouse and dryer will be constructed in the municipality. A major irrigation canal stretching about one kilometer will be also concreted.
Through the project, the farmers in the Municipality of Esperanza can increase their crop production, and in both municipalities, the loss after the harvest can decrease. Thanks to these, the market access of the agricultural products and the farmers' income are expected to improve. As an impartial component of the project, various trainings will be also conducted for the farmers so that they can properly manage and sustain the facilities all by themselves.
The Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects started in the Philippines in 2002. Since then, the Japanese Government has disbursed approximately 1 83 million pesos for a total of 28 projects in the Philippines. Japan believes that this project will strengthen not only friendship between the peoples of Japan and the Philippines but also the existing strategic partnership between Japan and the Philippines.
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