Japanese Embassy 's Minister for Economic Affairs Akio Isomata will attend the inauguration ceremonies for the Project entitled “Support to improve livelihood of poor farmers through production of organic and reduced-chemical produce in Nueva Vizcaya”. The event will be held in the Municipality of Solano, Nueva Vizcaya on May 10, 2012. The financial assistance for this project amounting to 42,571,511 Yen (approximately 21.3 million Pesos) is provided under the scheme “ Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects” by the Government of Japan.
The implementation of this Project is spearheaded by the GLM Institute, a Japanese NGO, in collaboration with a Philippine counterpart NGO, Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM), together with relevant local government agencies in Nueva Vizcaya. Th is project is a success or project of , and complement , the previous three-year project on promotion of participatory forest management in Nueva Vizcaya, which was also funded by the same grant assistance scheme of Japan's ODA. This new GLMI project aims to improve the livelihood of 100 farmer beneficiaries in Nueva Vizcaya through the establishment of new market channels, develop farmers knowledge in marketing of organic and reduced-chemical produce as well as introduce them to sustainable upland farming techniques.
The beneficiaries of the project are farmers in eight barangays of the municipalities in the previous GLMI projects. The project will involve six components, namely: establishment of new marketing channels other than middlemen; production of high profit vegetables and fruits using sustainable farming technologies; capacity building and knowledge development of producers in marketing of organic and reduced-chemical produce; involvement of local governments and partners in consolidation of the production environment; and dissemination of techniques and knowledge to other producers in the area.
This project reaffirms Japan's commitment to help strengthen the Philippine Government's efforts in alleviating the plight of marginal farmers . For more than a decade, Japan , as the top donor of the Official Development Assistance to the Philippines, has assisted the forestry and agricultural sectors in the Philippines through various Japanese ODA schemes such as loans, grants and technical cooperation. This project also contributes to further strengthening of the friendship between the peoples of Japan and the Philippines as well as strategic partnership between the two countries.
The Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects, which amounts to approximately 204 million Pesos, as of the end of April 2012 in the Philippines, was launched in 2003 to enhance cooperation between the Government of Japan and Japanese NGOs in the implementation of development projects in the Phlippines.
