Japan, WFP launch farm-to-school meals in the BARRM project
The Japanese government joined the World Food Program (WFP) in a project to boost food security and address malnutrition in the Bangsamoro region.
According to the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) the government of Japan and World Food Programme officially launched the “Farm-to-School Meals in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM)” project in Pasay City on Tuesday.
It noted that "the joint project worth $5 million will integrate 5,000 small-hold farmers to home-grown school feeding projects to enhance the nutrition status of 10,000 school children for the next two years."
Japan Ambassador to the Philippines Kazuhiko Koshikawa said the project seeks to simultaneously improve the state of agriculture and education in the region by providing school children with, “free hot meals to children on weekdays with the expectation of bringing children back to schools.”
The ambassador also shared that Japan also implemented a similar program in their country in 1954 called the ‘School Lunch Programme Act’ to help children attend school when poverty incidence was very high after the war.
On the other hand, WFP Officer-in-Charge Giorgi Dolidze also pointed out that the project hopes “to keep more Bangsamoro children in schools and ensure they receive sufficient nourishment to excel in their studies.”
He said the intervention will “support up to 5,000 farming and fisherfolk families by connecting them with the school meals supply chain.”
Dolidze stressed that the project will also encourage the greater participation and collaboration of local governments, civil society organizations, and communities because initiatives will be customized to best address needs they themselves identified.
In his message delivered by Mojahid Guro, Education Minister Mohagher Iqbal said the project is a “step forward in our collective efforts to achieve food security and nutrition goals in the BARMM which is an inseparable part of the broader quest for peace and development.”
Bangsamoro Planning and Development Authority Director General Mohajirin Ali, who was represented by Ms. Hasna Adam, said the project will benefit “more than 15,000 people in the Bangsamoro region, providing economic opportunities for farmers, nutritious meals for school children, and technical assistance to smallholder farmers and fisherfolk.”
Ali noted that the initiative will not only provide meals to school children, but also help in “empowering local farmers, creating economic opportunities, and fostering a culture of peace and sustainable development in the Bangsamoro region.”
Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity Sec. Carlito Galvez, Jr. said the project “utilizes a holistic approach” where the national and BARMM governments, LGUs and the international development sector “shall be working hand in hand to help put an end to the cycle of poverty, violence and conflict in the region.”
Galvez emphasized that the project is expected to increase socio-economic activities, boost local agriculture production, strengthen local food systems, and ensure the sustainable livelihood of residents in the region.
As he thanked the government of Japan for its unwavering support to the peace process, as well as the WFP for their continued and effective implementation of different projects in the BARMM, Galvez also urged Japan and the WFP, “to continue working closely with the different Bangsamoro peace mechanisms to ensure the greater synergy of peacebuilding and development efforts.”
“The OPAPRU is deeply honored to work with the Government of Japan, the World Food Programme, and the BARMM government in attaining our shared vision of bringing long-lasting peace and sustainable development to our Bangsamoro brothers and sisters,” he said. Robina Asido/DMS
