HE Ambassador Koshikawa Kazuhiko and Ms Sheila Wertz-Kanounnikoff holding up copies of the signed agreement between the Government of Japan and FAO to support FAO's Typhoon Odette humanitarian response initiative.

The Government of Japan has provided a total of US$ 6 million (PHP 337.5 million) to support two new initiatives by Philippine-based UN agencies: one by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and another by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), that will benefit farmers and #fisherfolk in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and in Typhoon Rai (Odette)-affected areas in the Philippines.

US$ 2 million (PHP 112.5 million) of the Japanese contribution will be used by FAO to implement a humanitarian initiative that will support the restoration of the livelihoods and the enhancement of the resilience of 20,000 small-scale coconut farmers and #fishers in Regions VII, VIII and XIII who were affected by Typhoon Rai.

“Our partnership with FAO will help farmers and fisherfolk severely affected by Typhoon Rai restore their #livelihoods and build their #resilience to future similar disasters. Through such endeavour, I sincerely hope that this genuine concern from the Japanese people reaches thousands of severely affected Filipinos,” said His Excellency Koshikawa Kazuhiko, Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines, at the signing ceremony held at the Department of Foreign Affairs Office yesterday, 31 August, to formalize the agreements between the Japanese Government, FAO and WFP.

Signing on behalf of FAO was Ms. Sheila Wertz-Kanounnikoff, FAO Representative ad interim in the Philippines, while WFP Philippines Representative and Country Director, Ms. Brenda Barton, signed for WFP.

Through this partnership, which complements government response efforts to the disaster, FAO will provide farmers and fishers with agricultural and fishery inputs, and complement these with capacity building on climate-resilient agriculture technologies and use of climate information system and early warning system.

The inputs and training will enable farmer-beneficiaries to establish alternative and additional livelihoods and sources of income to avoid dependence on food aid, thereby enhancing their long-term food security and nutrition.

“We are truly grateful of this contribution by the government and the people of Japan to help vulnerable Filipinos, whose livelihoods and lives were greatly affected by the Typhoon Rai disaster, to get back on their feet and lead productive, resilient lives,” said Ms Wertz-Kanounnikoff.

“We are greatly humbled by the faith and trust of Japan in FAO’s capacity to undertake such a noble initiative. But more importantly, this generous gesture is testament not only to the continuing and strong partnership between FAO and the Japanese Government, but more so between Japan and the Philippines,” she added.

On the other hand, US$ 4 million (PHP 225 million) of the Japanese contribution will go to WFP to support a project that aims to improve the livelihoods, food security, and nutrition of 7,500 smallholder farmers and fisherfolk in the Bangsamoro Region and strengthen their inclusion in the agricultural value chain through improved market linkages, enhanced agricultural productivity, and Social and Behaviour Change Communication activities.

“We have collaborated with the WFP and FAO on a number of initiatives aimed at improving resilience and achieving peace and development in Mindanao. It is critical to have stable living conditions, food security and nutrition for all in order to achieve peace," Ambassador Kazuhiko said.

"This latest project by WFP, I believe, will add greater meaning to achieving peace and progress, not only in the BARMM but also throughout Mindanao,” he emphasized.

“I would like to thank the Japanese government and its people for their unparalleled support of our operations in the Philippines. This contribution will make a difference in the lives of farmers and fisherfolk and their families in Mindanao, an area where WFP has been supporting the BARMM government to achieve food security,” said Ms. Brenda Barton.