$13-m aid looms for rice sector

THE Philippines could gain $13 million in official development assistance from Korea to put up modern rice-processing systems in Pangasinan, Iloilo, Bohol and Davao del Sur, officials said yesterday.

The agreement will be signed today at the Blue House in the South Korean capital Seoul and will be witnessed by President Arroyo and South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak.

The project will have a total cost of $15.7 million or P784.95 million.

The grant component of $12.97 million represents 83 percent of the total cost, and the local component of $2.73 million of P136.45 million will be finance by the Philippines’ Agriculture Department and local government units.

The rice-processing complex will have a seed- processing plant, a drying plant, a rice mill with color sorter, a grader and bagger and hauling facilities.

The complex will “boost the reduction of post-harvest losses, thereby contributing additional supply of rice, approximately around 2 million metric tons per year, which is enough to feed 15,000 individuals or 3,000 households,” the Korean International Cooperation Agency says.

The project will provide jobs to marketers and stock movers, technical and administrative staff, the agency says in a briefing paper.

Mrs. Arroyo will also witness the signing of a deal with Seoul on the employment permit system for overseas Filipino workers, as well as a deal on labor and manpower development and scientific, agricultural and technical cooperation.

Lee is hosting a state dinner for President Arroyo today.

From Seoul, Mrs. Arroyo proceeds to Jeju Island for the Association of South East Asian Nations-South Korea Commemorative Summit.

She delivers a talk on the global economic crisis at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum on Thursday.

“She will be among the speakers of the Forum’s plenary meeting on June 15,” deputy presidential spokesman Lorelei Fajardo, adding Mrs. Arroyo would also have a bilateral meeting with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev. –Joyce Pangco Pañares, Manila Standard Today