MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Cooperation agreement between Argentina, Japan launched

Argentine President Mauricio Macri welcomed the OVOP proposal from Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono in Buenos Aires last year.

Japan's International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Wednesday launched its “One Village, One Product” (OVOP) project in Argentina, which is designed to encourage social development in the provinces of Catamarca, Misiones, Chaco, Salta and Buenos Aires, it was announced.

Basically, OVOP proposes that a certain population choose one or more local products, to develop them on a large scale and compete in the global market, with the consequent development of the regional economy, thus promoting the creation of genuine labour opportunities, based on three fundamental principles: acting locally, thinking globally; the development of human resources and the promotion of autonomy and creativity.

A true global movement, OVOP has already been launched in China, the United States, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, Colombia, Peru, Brazil and Ecuador.

JICA is disembursing around three million US dollars at this stage of the undertaking, it was reported.

The programme will provide technical assistance for five years to promote the strengthening of social economy groups and organisations that provide support (national government, provincial, INTI, INTA, NGOs, etc).

”At JICA we are very excited to work together with the Ministry of Health and Social Development, with the five provinces selected. In the OVOP method there are three main points: ownership (at the end of this project, it is expected that Argentina has new tools that will be implemented and continue to expand activities in a sustainable way with other provinces, even after the project is finished), training for local human resources and inclusion and market orientation,“ said Mr. Hiroshi Nishiki, JICA representative in Argentina.

For his part, Mr. Satoshi Hishiyama, Minister Counselor of the Embassy of Japan in Argentina, recalled the various meetings between authorities of both countries, which led to Wednesday's launch.

The selected Argentine provinces will work together with national health authorities, it was announced during the launch ceremony.

The OVOP Movement (of the English ”One Village, One Product”) falls within a strategy and philosophy of local development that arose in the decade of the '70 in Japan.

OVOP is based on the work of local communities, who through their own or unique products (goods, services or events), become self-managers of their development. In this way, the aim is to improve the quality of life of the inhabitants of the localities, fostering the development of the capacities that make it possible to give greater added value to their resources, in order to promote identity, respect for the local culture, and a sense of belonging and the feeling of pride.