On 19 March 2025, First Secretary and Agricultural Attaché AKASAKA Hidenori attended the turnover ceremony of a cold storage facility to the Municipality of Buguias, and Mokusaku (wood vinegar)*1 facilities to Local Government Units (LGUs) of each project site. These facilities were constructed and installed under the 3-year project titled “Safe Vegetable Production Technology Dissemination and Vegetable Distribution System Improvement Project” led by the Japan Agricultural Exchange Council (JAEC).
In attendance were Benguet Governor Melchor D. Diclas, Buguias Mayor Ruben L. Tinda-an, Department of Agriculture (DA) Assistant Secretary Joycel R. Panlilio, and the Japan Agricultural Exchange Council Chairman Masami Sotome.
The whole 3-year project, which commenced in 2021, was funded under Japan’s Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects*2, one of Japan’s Official Development Assistance schemes. The project has been instrumental in providing support to Filipino farmers, helping them enhance their production techniques and vegetable distribution by incorporating innovative technologies and establishment of facilities including the development of the cold chain system through the cold storage facility and equipment.
*1 Wood vinegar (pyroligneous acid) is obtained by cooling and condensing the smoke produced during charcoal production and is used in agriculture as a natural pesticide, soil conditioner, and plant growth enhancer. Due to its environmentally friendly properties, wood vinegar is widely utilized in organic and sustainable farming.
*2 In the Philippines, the Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects was initiated in 2002. Since then, the Japanese Government has awarded contracts for 67 projects in the Philippines under this scheme, amounting to more than JPY 2 billion (approximately 779 million pesos*3) in total. Japan believes that these projects will not only strengthen the friendship between the peoples of the Philippines and Japan, but also bolster the existing strategic partnership between the two countries.
*3 Exchange Rate from BSP: 1 JPY=PHP 0.3853 (as of March 3, 2025)
