On July 30th, 2021, H.E. Karasawa Akira, Ambassador of Japan to the Republic of Palau, and H.E. Surangel S. Whipps Jr., President of the Republic of Palau, exchanged notes on the Japan’s Grant Aid “The Project for Assisting the Development of the Agriculture and Livestock Production Industry” for Palau. Hon. Hokkons Baules, Senate President, Hon. Sabino Anastacio, Speaker of the House of Delegates, Hon. Steven Victor, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and the Environment and other officials from Japan and Palau attended the ceremony.
In this project worth 200 million Japanese yen (1.8 million USD), Japan will provide the Bureau of Agriculture (BOA) with a set of equipment to build a chicken slaughterhouse, a meat-processing house and a veterinarian laboratory as well as a trailer and low flat head. These facilities will be built in the BOA premises in Ngchesar and Nekken in early 2023, in cooperation with BOA, Taiwan Technical Mission and other partners. This project will help Palau to enhance domestic livestock production, value and safety of the products and farmers’ livelihood, leading to improved food security in Palau. It is the first outcome under the bilateral agricultural cooperation framework “Task Force”, established on 21 May 2021 under the Memorandum of Cooperation signed between President Whipps and Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan Nogami. It is also the biggest Japan’s Grant Aid in agricultural areas since ever.
At the ceremony, President Whipps thanked Ambassador Karasawa and the people and Government of Japan for the Grant Aid. He stated, “We are really excited to develop livestock industry and improve food security. We need to learn from Japan’s experiences to develop our agriculture, so we hope to continue partnership with Japan in this area.”
Ambassador Karasawa stated that developing agriculture and livestock production is critically important for Palau to diversify economy and improve food security, and the project will significantly contribute to the demand for the long term. He added that Japan continues to promote more agricultural projects in cooperation with Task Force members.