CAUAYAN, Negros Occidental — Japan has funded the construction of a P3-million plant for lemongrass oil distillation in Cauayan, Negros Occidental, which will serve as an alternative livelihood source of farmers in the area.

Japanese Ambassador Toshinao Urabe and Auke Idzenga, chairman of the Management Committee of Alternative Indigenous Development Foundation Inc. (AIDFI), signed the grant contract for “The Project for Construction of Plant for Lemongrass Oil Distillation in Negros Occidental” at the Embassy of Japan.

The project, amounting to US$76,722 (approximately P3 million), is funded through the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP).

Local farmers in Mambugsay, Cauayan, Negros Occidental, have been facing extreme poverty because the farmland of Mambugsay is not suitable for growing sugarcane, unlike the other part of the province. The problem has hampered economic growth in the area.