Final shipment of Japan fertilizer grant arrives

MANILA, Philippines - The fourth and final shipment of fertilizers by Japan to the Philippines has arrived. The final shipment of 7,500 metric tons arrived at the Subic Freeport last Dec. 14, completing the total of 26,135  metric tons (MT) of fertilizer  donated by Japan this year  under the 31st Japan Grant  Assistant for Food Security projects for underprivileged farmers.

Agriculture Undersecretary and chief of staff Bernie G. Fondevilla said the grant involves two phases of implementation — monetiza-tion and utilization. The monetization phase

requires the Philippine government to sell the fertilizers through public bidding among local fertilizer companies and farmer cooperatives, which in turn, will sell the fertilizer to rice farmers in the target distribution areas. The utilization phase allows the DA and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), in coordination with the Japa-

nese government, to utilize the peso proceeds from the sale to fund their respective agriculture and fishery-based and social development projects.

The fertilizer grant from Japan is programmed for distribution in 15 provinces as agreed upo by both governments.

Under the plan, Fondevilla said the farm input will benefit mostly farmers from Central Luzon whose lands were badly damaged by typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng. Fondevilla said a monitoring system would be established by both the Philippine government and the Japanese embassy in Manila to check on the distribution of the fertilizers and ensure that  they reach the target beneficiaries. The approximate peso proceeds of P161.77 million from the sale of the fertilizer grants this year will be utilized by the DA and the NEDA to fund social development and agricultural and fishery development projects in poor communities, especially in the typhoon-ravaged areas.

A total of 155 projects worth P7.15 billion combined as of 2009 have already been funded by the Japan grant since the Philippines became a recipient in 1977 of this aid

program.