PCAF welcomes back 2013 batch of YFFTPJ trainees

Trainees of the Young Filipino Farmers Training Program in Japan in 2013 pose for posterity with PCAF Executive Director Ariel Cayanan, Deputy Executive Director Florabelle Uy-Yap and some agency officers during their courtesy call.

Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries (PCAF) officials led by Executive Director Ariel Cayanan and Deputy Executive Director Florabelle Uy-Yap welcomed back last year’s batch of 12 trainees of the Young Filipino Farmers Training Program in Japan (YFFTPJ).

During the courtesy calls with Deputy Exec. Dir. Yap and Exec. Dir Cayanan on March 21 and 24, respectively, the trainees shared their experiences during their 11-month training in Japan.

Batch president Alex Libano, the seventh in a brood of 11, shares with PCAF Exec. Dir. Ariel Cayanan the farming techniques he learned from his Japanese farmer-host in Uwajima City, Ehime Province

Batch president Alex Libano, the seventh in a brood of 11, shares with PCAF Exec. Dir. Ariel Cayanan the farming techniques he learned from his Japanese farmer-host in Uwajima City, Ehime Province

Batch president Alex Libano, 24, of Davao Oriental described how advanced farming technology is in Japan. He said he is grateful for the experience and skills he gained especially in operating farm equipment and machinery which he can use when he ventures into rice production.

Some of the trainees also shared the ‘One Village One Product’ program being adopted in Japanese communities which enables farmers in one village to produce one specific agricultural commodity and directly sell the value-added products in the market.

The trainees said that they learned a lot from their respective trainings in different areas such as farm management, organic farming, vegetable farming, cattle breeding and fattening, and marketing. One of them has also observed that the Japanese farmers themselves label their products right at their own farms.

They also shared how kind and trusting their Japanese host families are, who also wished them to excel in their chosen agricultural ventures back in Philippine land.

The trainees collectively conveyed their gratitude for the YFFTPJ which, for them, is a rare and huge opportunity especially for indigent young Filipino farmers like them.

They also hoped that the knowledge they acquired from their training will help improve not only the life of their families but also of their communities.

Exec. Dir. Cayanan congratulated the 2013 YFFTPJ participants on their feat and was glad to see that their sacrifices bore good fruits. He hoped that they will benefit from the skills and knowledge they acquired.

“Thank you for your hard work. You have made the PCAF, the Department of Agriculture and the whole country proud,” he told the 2013 YFFTPJ trainees.

The 2013 YFFTPJ trainees share an account of their experiences during their 11-month training in Japan with PCAF Deputy Exec. Dir. Florabelle Uy-Yap.

DED Yap was also glad that young Filipino farmers like them are being exposed to the discipline and culture of Japanese farmers. She hoped that they will become highly competitive farmers in the near future as they apply the skills and values they learned in Japan.

She also hoped that the trainees will uphold what they learned about the importance of quality of products, as opposed to quantity. DED Yap also urged them to live by the value of respecting the environment as their Japanese mentors have instilled in them.


The 2013 YFFTPJ participants will undergo post-training and evaluation. The training will include lectures on volunteerism, people-centered development, project proposal preparation, entrepreneurship and orientation about the Agricultural and Fishery Councils. This will be held amid the ongoing Pre-Departure Orientation Course of the 2014 batch of YFFTPJ trainees, who will be graduating from the course on April 4 and will leave for Japan on April 10.

see also: http://nafc.da.gov.ph/NAFCNEWs/2014/pcafwelcome.html

Japan approves PCAF-proposed 2KR project for Yolanda-hit farmers, fishers

With its enduring commitment to extend aid to Filipinos in need, the Government of Japan (GOJ) has approved the funding for the AKBay-Agrikultura: Kaagapay ng Bayang Pinoy Program-Phase II for Typhoon Yolanda-Affected Areas under the Japanese Grant Assistance for the Food Security Project for Underprivileged Farmers (2KR Program). 

A fund support of P139,979,500.00 from Japan's Official Development Assistance (ODA) was approved for this project.

The project aims to contribute to the Philippine Government's recovery and rehabilitation efforts being provided to agriculture and fishing communities affected by Typhoon Yolanda (international name Haiyan) in Region VIII.

Through the project, the Japanese Government will provide income-generating opportunities to farming and fishing households affected by Typhoon Yolanda and help them re-establish their livelihood. 

The project was proposed and will be managed by the Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries (PCAF), an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture (DA), in collaboration with DA Regional Field Office VIII.

The project will be implemented for one year targeting around 8,500 farmer and fisher families. The project will cover the first five severely damaged municipalities in four badly hit provinces in Region VIII, namely, Leyte, Eastern Samar, Biliran and Western Samar. 

Project components include grant assistance for planting materials or fishing boats and paraphernalia worth P15,000 per farmer/fisher household with no repayment.

The DA and PCAF will also undertake capacity-building activities that will prepare farmer and fisher households to undertake the livelihood endeavors provided by the program. These include trainings on basic project management, skills enhancement, technology and record-keeping. 

Typhoon Yolanda’s onslaught in many areas in the Luzon and Visayas regions on November 8, 2013 caused multi-billion peso worth of damages, mostly in agriculture and infrastructure. 

“While the immediate needs of the affected families were provided, there is a need for continuing help through livelihood opportunities that would provide sustainable means to assist the victims towards recovery,” the Japanese Embassy said in a statement.

Japan’s 2KR program has been making positive impact in the livelihood of many Filipino farmers in the past 30 years. With this newly approved project, the GOJ reaffirms their country’s commitment, as the top donor of the ODA to the Philippines, to support the efforts of the Philippine Government to alleviate poverty and achieve food self-sufficiency.

The project also serves as a continuing testimony of strategic partnership between Japan and the Philippines towards the future.

Top photo shows a scanned copy of the letter of approval from the Japanese Government on the AKBay Program Phase II for Typhoon-Yolanda Affected Areas under the 2KR program. Inset photo shows PCAF officials’ meeting with officials from the Embassy of Japan (EOJ) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) early this year to discuss the details of the project. From left to right: Ms. Sherilyn Aoyama, JICA Manila Staff; Mr. Ervin Mella, Jr., Senior Program Officer under the Poverty Reduction Section of JICA Manila; Mr. Yoshiyuki Ueno, JICA Manila Representative; Mr. Ryutaro Aoki, EOJ First Secretary, Agriculture; PCAF Exec. Dir. Ariel Cayanan; PCAF Deputy Exec. Dir. Florabelle Uy-Yap; and, Mr. Takashi Fujimori, DA-JICA Expert.

Top photo shows a scanned copy of the letter of approval from the Japanese Government on the AKBay Program Phase II for Typhoon-Yolanda Affected Areas under the 2KR program. Inset photo shows PCAF officials’ meeting with officials from the Embassy of Japan (EOJ) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) early this year to discuss the details of the project. From left to right: Ms. Sherilyn Aoyama, JICA Manila Staff; Mr. Ervin Mella, Jr., Senior Program Officer under the Poverty Reduction Section of JICA Manila; Mr. Yoshiyuki Ueno, JICA Manila Representative; Mr. Ryutaro Aoki, EOJ First Secretary, Agriculture; PCAF Exec. Dir. Ariel Cayanan; PCAF Deputy Exec. Dir. Florabelle Uy-Yap; and, Mr. Takashi Fujimori, DA-JICA Expert.

source: http://nafc.da.gov.ph/NAFCNEWs/2014/japan.html