Ambassador of Japan to Nepal Tasuo Mizuno and finance secretary Rameshwor Prashad Khanal jointly signed the agreement and exchanged notes today on behalf of their respective governments.

The grant is extended for procuring the items necessary to raise food production in Nepal with special emphasis on underprivileged farmers. The grant would be used for the procurement of fertilisers needed to boost agricultural production, thus enabling the country to meet its ever-increasing demand for food.

On the occasion, Mizuno said that Japan — a close friend and development partner of Nepal — has been extending assistance to Nepal in its endeavour to socio-economic development.

Earlier this week, Japan and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have jointly launched three new projects under ADB’s Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR).

Thet have teamed up to support Nepal in setting up women and children service centres for the victims of abuse, facilitating legal identity documentation for poor people and production of fortified flour in Chakki mills. The three projects totalling $4.55 million in grants will be funded by JFPR and administered by ADB.

Announcing the grants during its launch ceremony here, ADB executive director of Japan Masakazu Sakaguchi has said that all three projects are targeted at benefiting and empowering the most vulnerable and excluded groups in Nepali society —women, children and extremely poor.” He said that the projects are in line with poverty reduction goals of JPFR.

Speaking on the same occasion, ADB country director for Nepal Barry Hitchcock said the projects will enable people in some of the poorest districts to gain access to essential services.

From 2001 to 2010, Nepal received seven JFPR projects worth $9.3 million.