Asunción, Agencia IP.- The Paraguayan Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, in partnership with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Paraguayan Faculty of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences of the National University of Itapúa (UNI-FaCAF), officially launched the SHEP Project, an initiative aimed at strengthening Paraguay’s Agricultural Extension Service and improving the income of family farming households.
The project’s main objective is to increase the income of Paraguayan family farmers through the implementation of the SHEP Approach, with initial operations in the departments of Caaguazú and Itapúa.
The international technical team will include Hajime Takasago, JICA’s Resident Representative in Paraguay; Tatsuya Morita, Chief Advisor of the SHEP Project; and Ryoko Kozaki, SHEP Project Coordinator.
For this phase, the project’s institutional goals focus on institutionalization by permanently incorporating the SHEP methodology into the operational plans of the Paraguayan Directorate of Agricultural Extension.
The initiative also seeks to generate social impact by working actively with 40 local farmer groups, while ensuring that at least 30% of participants are women.
Economic sustainability and technical training
The project also aims to increase beneficiaries’ income compared to the baseline established during the initial assessment. In addition, it includes comprehensive training for agricultural extension officers and UNI-FaCAF faculty members to strengthen technical capacity.
The initiative will receive support from JICA experts through international training programs and the provision of specialized technical equipment.
Approaches on gender equality, environmental conservation, and sustainable agricultural production will also be integrated throughout the project.
According to the organizers, this international cooperation initiative reaffirms the strategic partnership between Paraguay and Japan while promoting equity, strengthening technical capacity in the agricultural sector, and supporting sustainable rural development.
