On March 14, Japanese Ambassador Koshikawa Kazuhiko signed a grant contract for the project titled “Commercialization of Japanese Quality Strawberry and Promotion of Agri-Tourism in Highland“ with a Japanese non-governmental organization (NGO), Ikaw-Ako.

The $277,455 (approximately P14.48 million) total grant amount of the project will be funded under the Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO projects.

The project aims to commercialize strawberry cultivation and encourage farm tourism in Barangay Patag, Silay City, Negros Occidental.

It will lay out an income option for the residents by utilizing Japan's strawberry cultivation technology and expertise in the operation of farms focusing on agri-tourism.

The Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects started in the Philippines in 2002. Since then, the Japanese Government has made contracts for 57 projects in the Philippines under this scheme, amounting to approximately 1.5 billion yen (approximately P676.95 million) in total.

Japan believes that this project 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. Japan Information and Culture Center