JAPAN TURNS OVER COLD STORAGE AND “MOKUSAKU” FACILITIES TO BENGUET
BUGUIAS, Benguet
Japan First Secretary and Agricultural Attaché AKASAKA Hidenori turned-over a cold storage facility and Mokusaku (wood vinegar) facility to Buguias, Benguet last Wednesday, March 19, 2025. These facilities were constructed and installed under the 3-year project titled “Safe Vegetable Production Technology Dissemination and Vegetable Distribution System Improvement Project” led by the Japan Agricultural Exchange Council (JAEC). The whole 3-year project, which started in 2021, was funded under Japan’s Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects, one of Japan’s Official Development Assistance schemes.
Wood vinegar (pyroligneous acid) is obtained by cooling and condensing the smoke produced during charcoal production and is used in agriculture as a natural pesticide, soil conditioner, and plant growth enhancer. Due to its environmentally friendly properties, wood vinegar is widely utilized in organic and sustainable farming. The project has been instrumental in providing support to Filipino farmers, helping them enhance their production techniques and vegetable distribution by incorporating innovative technologies and establishment of facilities including the development of the cold chain system through the cold storage facility and equipment.
In the Philippines, the Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects was initiated in 2002. Since 2022, the Japanese government has
awarded contracts for 67 projects in the Philippines under Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects, amounting to more than JPY 2
billion (approximately 779 million pesos) in total. Japan believes that these projects 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, the Japanese Embassy Cultural Information Service said.
Artemio A. Dumlao/ABN
