The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Tuesday said South Korea donated 950 metric tons (MT) of rice to the Philippines for families affected by natural disasters and calamities last year.
The DA said the beneficiaries of the rice
donation were the earthquake victims in Mindanao, particularly in North
Cotabato and Davao del Sur, and other areas in Regions 11 and 12, and flood
victims in
Cagayan Valley.
“On behalf of President Duterte, we would like to thank President Moon Jae-in and the people of the Republic of Korea for their generosity in helping our countrymen who suffered and survived a series of earthquake in Mindanao and flooding in Cagayan Valley,” Agriculture Secretary William Dar said in a statement.
The DA said the rice donation is part of the emergency food assistance of South Korea’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA).
The donation was shipped by Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corporation to the National Food Authority (NFA) as part of the Asean Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve Tier 3 (APTERR Tier 3) Program, the DA added.
“South Korea’s donation is a manifestation of your country’s dependable support and concern to the Filipino people, and rest assured the rice will go beyond its initial intended purpose.” Dar said in his letter to MAFRA Minister Kim Hyeon-Soo.
The DA said the rice shipments arrived last March at the ports of General Santos City (600 MT) and Manila (350 MT) and temporarily kept at NFA warehouses.
“The NFA is set to turn over the South Korean rice donation to the Department of Social Welfare and Development for distribution to affected families in Regions 11, 12, and Cagayan Valley as identified by the DSWD in coordination with the concerned LGUs,” said NFA Administrator Judy Carol Dansal.
The APTERR Tier 3 is a regional cooperation mechanism involving Asean member-countries plus the Republic of Korea, Japan and China, according to DA. It aims to strengthen food security and provide emergency rice assistance to victims of natural calamities in member countries, it added.