Press Releases
Signing and Exchange of Notes Concerning Grant Aid “The Project for the Development of Sustainable Fishery Value Chains in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao” to the Republic of the Philippines
On February 4, in Manila, the capital of the Republic of the Philippines, Mr. ENDO Kazuya, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the Republic of the Philippines, and Lionel DABBADIE, Representative and Country Director of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in the Philippines, signed and exchanged notes concerning the grant aid project for the Development of Sustainable Fishery Value Chains in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (grant provision of up to 681 million yen).
- Mindanao is blessed with abundant natural resources, especially in the Bangsamoro Muslim Mindanao Autonomous Region (BARMM), where fish such as red flounder, flathead flounder, bigeye tuna, yellowfin tuna, smelt, tilapia, milkfish, catfish, and carp are landed. Fisheries are one of the most important economic activities in the region.
- However, 30-40% of the landed fish are discarded due to poor management, and the catch is not stable due to deadly diseases of farmed fish, which does not lead to sufficient income for the small-scale fishermen and aquaculturists in BARMM.
- This project will provide support to the Transitional Authority of Bangsamoro and its staff as well as small-scale fishermen and aquaculture operators to improve their capacity for fisheries management and monitoring, and to improve fisheries and aquaculture technology. We expect that this projectwill establisha sustainable fisheries value chain in BARMM, thereby contributing to solving issues such as fishermen's livelihood improvement, quantitative fisheries resource management, and post-catch losses and promoting the sustainable development of the region.
The Republic of the Philippines has an area of approximately 300,000 square kilometers (approximately 80% of the Japan’s area), a population of about 117.34 million people (2023, World Bank), and a gross national income (GNI) per capita is 4,230 USD (2023, World Bank).