The Japanese government, as part of the KR II grant, will provide more than Nu 1.5 B for procurement of power tillers. To this effect, an agreement was signed today.
The Grant Aid Agreement was signed between the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Bhutan and Gross National Happiness Commission.
With the grant, the agriculture and forests ministry will procure 353 power tillers by the end of next year. It will then be hired out to Bhutanese farmers.
JICA’s Chief Representative to Bhutan, Koji Yamada, said effective utilisation of the power tillers will encourage the Japanese government to donate more. The request for power tillers was submitted in 2014.
“Once we see that Bhutan is able to effectively use the existing power tillersโฆthe Government of Japan may decide on the next step on the extra power tillers.โ
The Government of Japan has been supporting Bhutanโs efforts of farm mechanisation since 1983. So far, they have provided about 3,200 power tillers through the KR II grant.
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