PESHAWAR: Government of Japan in collaboration with Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations Tuesday handed over locust control items to the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under the Grant in Aid project titled “Project for the Restoration of Livelihoods in the Merged Districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.”
The items handed over to the provincial government included 20, 000 liters of insecticide, 170 battery-operated sprays pumps, 170 generator-operated spray pumps and 77 units of motorcycles for mobilization of staff of the Agriculture Extension Department for future locust control activities in the merged districts of KP, said an official of FAO here.
The support would strengthen the operational capacities for desert locust control operations through better preparedness for and response to the crisis.
The handing over ceremony held at a local hotel in Islamabad and attended by Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan MATSUDA Kuninori, Minister for Agriculture KP Mohibullah Khan, Chief Representative, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Pakistan Office FURUTA Shigeki, FAO Representative in Pakistan and Florence Marie Rolle, Secretary Agriculture GoKP Dr. Muhammad Israr Khan as well as other senior officials of the relevant departments of the Government of KP.
The aforesaid project, which provided grants worth 560 million Japanese Yen equivalent to around USD 5.1 million / around PKR 840 million, started in April 2018 and will be completed within 2021.
The project has been implemented in order to restore livelihoods in the Merged Districts of KP by improving productivity and value addition in the Agriculture Sector.
Under the project, activities like establishment of fruit nurseries, rehabilitation of irrigation channels, and distribution of poultry packages have taken place and benefitted more than 32, 000 households (around 295, 000 individuals).
The provision of the locust control equipment was added so that the KP Government can effectively respond to the locust attacks in future.
At the handing over ceremony, Ambassador MATSUDA stated, “Japan supported Pakistan to control locust outbreak by supplying 60 thousand litters of insecticide and material needed, along with financial support to farmers last year.
Moreover, “we are providing additional material to the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa because we believe that preparedness and early response are essential for locust control in the near future. I hope people in this region with better coping equipment and improved resilience skills will continue profitable farming and our cooperation will contribute to their prosperity”.
FAO Representative Florence Marie Rolle stated that the support from the people of Japan was instrumental in the restoration of livelihoods in the Newly Merged Districts (NMDs) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and in strengthening the capacity of Agriculture Department to cope with future disasters.
She further added that FAO’s collaboration with the Embassy of Japan and JICA will be strengthened in the days ahead while with the FAO’s technical and JICA’s financial support, the Department of Agriculture will be facilitated for the provision of improved services to vulnerable people of the NMDs.
FURUTA Shigeki while speaking at the ceremony said that the two phases of projects, funded by the Government of Japan ensured food security through sustainable agriculture development that resumed agriculture-based livelihoods of the people who returned after internal displacement.
He hoped that the JICA support would make a significant contribution for strengthening capacity of the Agriculture Extension Department in combating future locust attack in the targeted areas to minimize crops damages of poor farm families.
Mohibullah Khan, Minister for Agriculture, KP expressed his appreciation on behalf of the Government of KP. He thanked the Government of Japan and JICA for their extended support through the FAO implemented project for the restoration of livelihoods in the Merged Districts of KP.
He further said that this support came at a very critical juncture and much needed time, which had not only revitalized livelihoods of the local people but ensured their food security as well.