JICA, TOKYO OFFICE

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has built nine labs on the campus of Nay Pyi Taw’s Yezin Agricultural University. US $ 10.6 million were spent for constructing these labs and they will be used by Japanese experts to teach agriculture related subjects. The sessions are expected to start from November this year and are to continue till 2019. Known as the “Agro-Laboratories”, these labs have been built with the sole aim of helping Myanmar to become the “food bank of Japan”. Agricultural crops, plant husbandry, fertile topsoil and water science, plant diseases, entomology, gardening crops, agro-business, agro-engineering, and animal husbandry are some of the subjects that will be taught at these labs.

Two Japanese professors will be resident at the University while other experts from the field of agriculture experts will come temporarily come to teach students and stay for a period of six months. Japan has showed its willingness to share its knowledge with the Myanmar. The teachers from Yezin Agricultural University will be sent to Japan for further learning and they come back they will be able to share what they have learned with others. With time this initiative will enable Myanmar to become capable of exporting its food products into the Japanese market which will benefit both the countries. Once the labs are complete and fully functional, the experts from Japan will be able to manufacture food products such as sake, sushi and sashimi in Myanmar which can then be exported to Japan.

Japan also intends to provide the training and technology that will enable Myanmar to produce foods such as biscuits and chocolate. JICA has plans to build vegetable dehydration factories in Myanmar which will be used to dehydrate vegetables in Myanmar before sending them for sale in Japan. There is a huge demand for insecticide free mangoes in Japan. JICA will teach local farmers the art of being able to grow mangoes without insecticide which can then be sold in Japanese market at high prices.