News Update Japan extends aid to Benguet

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet, Philippines - The Japanese government recently donated some P4.5 million as financial assistance to the thousands of calamity-stricken farmers in the vegetable-producing province of Benguet to further strengthen the relationship between the industrialized nation and the Philippines. Minister Shinsuke Shimizu, head of the Chancery of the Embassy of Japan, who was in the province, led the giving of the relief assistance to the farmers and expressed optimism that the agriculture stakeholders who were affected by the recent typhoons will be able to recover from the losses they suffered during the onslaught of the weather disturbances. At least 1,574 farmers stand to benefit from the assistance extended by the people of Japan and funded through the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects that aims to provide the needed help to agriculture stakeholders who were affected by the natural calamities that struck Benguet and other parts of Northern Luzon over the past two years. Benguet is known to be the Salad Bowl of the Philippines because it serves as the source of over 75 percent of the country's demand for highland vegetables which are distributed in most parts of Metro Manila and other lowland markets. Vegetable farming is the main source of livelihood of over 250,000 individuals in the 13 towns of the province. The Embassy of Japan also provided the required financial assistance to thousands of typhoon-affected farmers from Kalinga as well as Isabela and Cagayan in Region 2 over the past several months. Shimizu said Japan believes the financial assistance project being undertaken by its embassy will not only strengthen friendship between the people of Japan and the Philippines but will also contribute to fostering a strategic partnership between the two countries towards the future. Japan, considered the largest donor of overseas development assistance project to the Philippines, launched the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects in 1989 for the purpose of reducing poverty in developing countries and helping communities engage in grassroots activities that will help spark economic activities, which are instrumental in improving the lives of people in the rural areas. As this developed, provincial officials expressed their gratitude to the Japanese government for its unrelenting support to Benguet over the past several years, javascript:void(0)considering that many areas and residents in the province have been a constant beneficiary of numerous projects and programs funded by Japan through its overseas development assistance agencies like the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), among others. Because of the numerous assistance being extended not only to the farmers but also to concerned local government units and non-government organizations, local officials challenged farmers and beneficiaries of fund assistance to make sure that they will be productive in their respective endeavor in order to gain the confidence of the donors to continuously extend their support to the province, especially during times of emergencies like typhoons, among others.