The Japanese government has announced a grant of more than $160,000 to support the cashew industry in Kratie province. The funding will support the construction of storage and drying facilities, along with state-of-the-art moisture-measuring equipment.
A total of $164,269 in grant assistance, provided under the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects, known as Kusanone, will be provided to the Kratie Provincial Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
The grant agreement was signed on October 2 by Misumi Takahito, Chargé d’Affaires ad interim at the embassy of Japan in Cambodia, and Try Sopheak, director of the provincial agriculture department.
Through the project, three storage and drying facilities will be constructed, along with three moisture-measuring devices, in three agricultural communities in the province.
“These facilities and equipment will help approximately 500 members of the agricultural communities improve post-harvest cashew processing, which will help increase the volume of cashews available for sale and contribute further to the development of the agricultural sector,” said Misumi.
“I arrived in Cambodia about one month ago and have been impressed by the rapid pace of the country’s development. At the same time, I recognise that there are still some challenges that need to be addressed to improve people’s quality of life,” he added.
Misumi noted that Japan will continue to contribute to addressing these challenges through various official development assistance programmes, including Kusanone.
Japan’s Kusanone programme began working in Cambodia in 1991 to support the Kingdom’s efforts to develop and rebuild at the grassroots level, with more than $72 million granted to local authorities and non-governmental organisations to implement more than 700 projects across Cambodia.
