PASAY CITY, 05 November 2021 – The Bangsamoro government formally received Japan’s donation of 1,778 metrics ton amounting to 350 million Japanese Yen (estimated as PhP162 million) through a Ceremonial Exchange of Notes between the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines and the United Nations World Food Program (WFP), which was held at the Department of Foreign Affairs on 03 November 2021.
The project will benefit 9,877 farming and fishing households, or approximately 49,385 individuals, and contribute to the realization of Philippine commitments to enhance the capacities of farmers and fisherfolk, strengthen food systems in the country to address hunger and achieve food security.
Foreign Affairs Acting Secretary Maria Theresa P. Lazaro, together with the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) Secretary Carlito G. Galvez, Jr., and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Agrarian Reform Ammal Solaiman stand witnessed the Ceremonial Exchange of Notes between the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines represented by Ambassador Koshikawa Kazuhiko, and the WFP represented by Country Director Brenda Barton.
Acting Secretary of Foreign Affairs Lazaro commended the Government of Japan and the World Food Programme for the strong partnership and drive to sustain ongoing development initiatives and co-creating sustainable solutions towards eradicating poverty and building food secure, self-reliant, and resilient communities in the Bangsamoro region.
“The project will not only help address existing development challenges but also help enable the Bangsamoro region to achieve sustainable development. As the project forms part of the Convergence Model, where WFP and BARMM Ministries collaborate to achieve ecological integrity and welcome and enable former combatants to become productive members of society, we recognize its contribution to the Government’s peacebuilding efforts in the Bangsamoro region,” Acting Secretary of Foreign Affairs Lazaro stressed.
Source: Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)