Japan is allocating USD233,838 or approximately PHP12.9 million in grants to help the country revive its silk farming tradition.

The Japanese Embassy in Manila on Thursday said one of the two grant contracts it signed this week would support a project that expands sericulture in the provinces of Benguet, Nueva Vizcaya, and Misamis Oriental.

The Organization for Industrial, Spiritual and Cultural Advancement International will implement the program in collaboration with the Philippine Textile Research Institute.

The funding will cover the construction of a silkworm farm and mulberry plantation, as well as the installation of greenhouses and solar panel systems.

Additionally, it will support the strengthening of stakeholder capacity through training programs in both the Philippines and Japan, targeting representatives from each project site, the embassy said.

The grant was formally signed by Embassy Charges d’Affaires a.i. Kenichi Matsuda on March 13.

On top of sericulture, he also signed a grant contract worth USD168,391 or approximately PHP9.3 million to provide rainwater tanks and sanitary education in rural areas of Bohol.

Japan has been awarding grant contracts to Japanese non-government organizations since 2002 as part of its development program in the Philippines.

To date, it has funded at least 64 projects valued at approximately PHP678.78 million 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 embassy said. (PNA)