## Grassroots Partner Type

• Budget ceiling: total of ¥50 million or less

• Duration: three years maximum

This type of support caters to those including Japanese NGOs, universities, and public interest corporations that are well-experienced in international cooperation activities. JICA supports the activities they propose based on its experiences and techniques that it has cultivated in assisting developing countries. After participant organizations further accumulate experience in this system, they are expected to contribute to the growth of developing countries, along with the efforts of JICA and other government aid organizations.

## Local Government Type

• Project budget: total of approximately ¥4.5 million per year

• Duration: three years maximum

This type of support caters to projects led by local municipalities, taking advantage of their local communities' knowledge and experiences to be applied to international cooperation and assistance for developing countries. This type aims at the maximum use of various know-how and broad channels nourished by local municipalities to contribute to the economic and social growth of developing countries. Expected effects include finely tuned cooperation combining the acceptance of developing countries' manpower into local communities in Japan and on-site technical guidance. Local municipalities can also contribute through international exchange of their local residents. They are also able to cooperate with NGOs and private entities when implementing projects.

## An example of the Local Government Type

Fruit growing is an active industry in areas including Date City, Fukushima Prefecture. To use fruit growing technologies nourished in this area, Date City began activities to disseminate its outstanding home-grown fruit growing technologies in a developing country in 2005. The city chose the central Asian country of Uzbekistan, in particular the Fergana Province that has rich soil and a favorable climate for growing fruit.

This project is carried out by the Fukushima Uzbekistan Culture Economy Exchange Association, which also works as the liaison office for the project. Mr. Toshio Shishido, the association's chief director, formerly set up the Fukushima branch, the Japan-Soviet Goodwill Association, in the 1970s. Since 1979, he has focused his main activities on exchange and cooperation with Uzbekistan. Since the country's independence, Mr. Shishido has promoted mutual goodwill visits every year and accepted trainees in the medical and agricultural sectors in the region. In this fruit growing project, he serves as the project manager, planning and executing, and coordinating the whole project. In the project, specifically, a model orchard was set up in Fergana Province of Uzbekistan. There, a number of cooperation activities have been underway, such as dispatching fruit-growing experts and accepting trainees. These Projects aim at breeding improvements of peaches and apples, modernization for farming machinery, and prevention of blights and insects. In this way the Projects contribute to technical cooperation that conforms to the Fergana Province's climate, soil, environment, and experience. As a result, local people have grown young trees sent from Date City, begun breeding improvement work, and nourished peaches and apples for regular harvesting. As these activities gained such significant appraisals in Fergana, the project commenced the second phase from FY2008. This second phase aims at the generation of adequate incomes through broader technical enhancements such as the prevention of blight and insect damage, breeding and soil improvements, and frost damage countermeasures.

This project not only contributes to the transfer of significant fruit-growing technologies from Date City

to Fergana, but also to the international exchange of local residents. The exchange Projects involve its whole community, and include annual visits to a primary school near public-run orchards as well as participation in the school's athletic meeting by trainees from Fergana.

The relationship between Date City, Japan and Fergana, Uzbekistan has been certainly strengthened. To illustrate, another organization for agricultural cooperation, Date Uzbekistan Agricultural Exchange Association, was newly established. The organization promotes agricultural cooperation activities such as granting machines to spray agricultural chemicals, called speed-sprayers.

Mr. Sato showing how to prune an apple tree