Information and news about the USAID Growth with Equity in Mindanao III (GEM 3) Project

Andrew Plitt (3rd from left), Bureau Chief for Strategic Planning and Operations of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in Washington, D.C., met with City Mayor Celso Lobregat and William Lim (both far left), President of Mega Fishing Corporation, during Mr. Plitt’s recent visit to Zamboanga City. With them are (center to right): Myra Emata-Stokes, Chief of the Program Resource Management Office, USAID/Philippines; Stanley Swerdloff, Senior Fisheries Advisor of USAID’s Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) Program; Ross Wherry, GEM Chief of Party; and Malcolm Lim. Among its various assistance projects in Zamboanga City, USAID helps communities and cooperatives, including cooperatives composed of former MNLF combatants, to engage in high-value aquaculture in order to tap the huge market potential of the live fish trade with China and other Asian countries. 

Published in Zamboanga Today, July 28, 2011; www.thesaigonnewsoflasvegas.com, July 28, 2011; www.usnewslasvegas.com, July 27, 2011; www.thechinesenewsoflasvegas.com, July 27, 2011; Daily Zamboanga Times, July 23, 2011