Non-refundable aid worth US$124,721 provided by the Japanese government will be poured into the first phase of a project to develop organic agriculture in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap.

The aid was handed over to Japanese non-profit Seed to Table at a signing ceremony held at the Consulate General of Japan in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday afternoon.

In the first phase, Seed to Table will carry out the project in Dong Thap’s two cities of Cao Lanh and Sa Dec, Hong Ngu Town, and its nine districts.

The organization will help local residents produce organic agricultural products, educate young people about environmental protection, as well as boosting local development in association with environmental protection.

Particularly, local farmers will receive assistance from Seed to Table to establish the participatory guarantee system, or PGS, which is defined by the Asian Development Bank as a community-based certification system that organizes farmers into groups and coordinates regular peer reviews or inspections of their members.

Local students will also be taught environmental protection via models of organic gardens at their schools.

Besides, Seed to Table will organize training programs and seminars for related parties.

Speaking at Thursday afternoon’s signing ceremony, Japanese Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City Kawaue Junichi pledged to provide maximum support for the project.

Before Dong Thap, the Japanese government supplied Seed to Table with nearly $500,000 between 2017 and 2019 for three phases of a similar organic agriculture project in the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre.

Seed to Table was founded in 2009 by Mayu Ino, a Japanese woman, with the aim of promoting eco-friendly agriculture and supporting community development in Vietnam.

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