<p>Japan has agreed to provide $754,321 to two organisations under the framework of the Grant Assistance for Japanese non-governmental (NGO) projects.</p> <p><br /> <br /> The contract was signed on Friday by Mikami Masahiro, ambassador of Japan to Cambodia and the two recipient’s representatives. A grant of $371,479 towards the development of the four-year University of Physical Education course at the National Institute of Physical Education was awarded to nonprofit organisation Hearts of Gold. A second grant of $382,842 to support smallhold farmers in contract farming organic cashew nuts through an agriculture cooperative was awarded to International Volunteers of Yamagata (IVY).</p> <p>Hearts of Gold will utilise their grant by improving curriculum, teacher training and installing new physical education facilities. About 65 staff and 300 teacher trainees in the institute will benefit through the improvement of their learning environment. More than 930,000 students in Cambodia are expected to receive more effective physical education as a result of the programme initiatives.</p> <p><br /> <br /> The IVY project will promote organic cashew nut cultivation and cooperation marketing among farmers in Preah Vihear province in order to increase their incomes and improve their quality of life. In the final year of this three-year project, three new agricultural cooperatives (AC), alongside 10 existing ones, will have qualified for organic certification and have established a sustainable production process and cooperative marketing system.</p> <p>Matsuura Ayumi, country director of IVY, said this is the final year of the project. Last year, its second, saw 20 percent of the ACs’ production cashew nut production being sold as organic nuts. She added that the cashews were processed in Cambodia for export. With organic certification she noted that farmers can earn up to 15 percent more than the market price.</p> <p>“IVY is proud of our guidance in this project and we want to share that knowledge to agriculture cooperatives and relevant stakeholders and implement an action plan this year so we can strengthen the roots of our activities,” she added.</p> <p>Mikami, Japan’s ambassador, said that Cambodia has been developing rapidly but there are issues remaining to be addressed in improving the livelihood of the Cambodian people. These include poverty reduction and social development through the health and educational sectors.</p> <p>“Although the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic is becoming more serious in the world, Japan is continuing its cooperation with NGOs to solve those challenges,” said Mikami. “Through these projects, I believe that the livelihood of the people in rural areas will be improved and that training in physical education will be further developed in Cambodia after the project is completed,” he added.</p> <p><br /> <br /> The Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO projects in Cambodia dates back to 2002. It supports activities by Japanese NGOs to help Cambodia’s reconstruction and development efforts at the grassroots level. Since its inception, the government of Japan has provided more than $42 million for 133 projects, with an emphasis on the fields of primary education, health, agriculture and mine clearance in Cambodia.</p>