Cairo, March 19, 2017

Grassroots Assistance

Japan Assists Project for Establishment of a Cold Chain for Small Scale Farmers in Dakhla, New Valley
  

On March 18th of 2017, Mr. Takehiro Kagawa, Ambassador of Japan to Egypt and Mr. Aly Abdel-Aal Sayed Hassan, Chairperson for New Horizon Association for Social Development, signed a grant contract for Japanese Grant Assistance for Grass-Roots and Human Security Projects on the occasion of Japanese Food Business Dialogue Event at Intercontinental Cairo City Stars.
The grant assistance amounting to US$154,558 is extended by the Government of Japan to Association for the purpose of establishing an organic agro-product cold chain between the Dakhla oasis and the neighbor oasis communities. The Project aims to facilitate Dakhla community development by enhancing the community’s organic agro-business. In order for the small scale farmers to have a better access to markets outside their communities and to generate better income, the Project is going to establish a cold chain by constructing an agro-product warehouse with a cooling system and introducing refrigerator to a delivery truck. It will enable individual farmers’ agro-products to be stored and marketed collectively and efficiently.

At the grant contract signing ceremony, the long-standing cooperation between the Embassy of Japan and New Horizon Association in the support of small scale farmers in Dakhla of New Valley was highlighted. A water irrigation system was installed and the organic and modern farming skill training center was developed since 2008, and by today, 1,633 farmers have completed the training and 1,200 of them have established their own business. The project site was a small oasis village but it transformed to a core city of New Valley governorate. Mr. Hassan expressed his gratitude for the Embassy’s continuous support and his determination to achieve a model case of community based organic agro-business development through this project.

This grant is extended under the Japanese government’s assistance scheme for Grassroots and Human Security Projects, which provides support to non-profitable organizations and NGOs in fields such as health, social care, education, environment and vocational training. This scheme was launched in Egypt in 1994, and around 160 projects have been implemented to date, totaling about US$ 8 million.