AMBASSADOR of Japan Kazuhiko Koshikawa participated in the online exit conference of the Mindanao Sustainable Agrarian and Agriculture Development (MinSAAD) Project on September 2.
The MinSAAD Project is a ¥6-billion loan fund from the Japanese government through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which undertook the construction of farm-to-market roads, bridges, irrigation facilities, post-harvest infrastructure, rural water supply and agricultural capacity-building support.
First implemented in 2012 and completed in 2020, MinSAAD benefitted more than 69,000 agrarian reform beneficiaries in targeted settlement areas in Regions 10, 11 and 12. Models of small-scale farmers’ empowerment and sustainable development in the agricultural sector are the expected target areas of the project.
JICA Philippines Chief Representative Eigo Azukizawa, Agrarian Reform Secretary John R. Castriciones and Mindanao Development Authority Undersecretary Janet Lopoz also joined the ceremony online, which was held live in General Santos City.