The government will build cold storage facilities in fish ports throughout the country, including 11 in General Santos and Cagayan de Oro, to reduce fish spoilage to 8 to 10 percent from the current 25 percent to 40 percent per harvest.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in a video interview after his meeting with officials of various departments and attached agencies, said spoilage happens during handling and transfer of the fish from the boats to the drop off area and the market.
“The solution there is to put up cold storage facilities in areas where the fish is dropped off to preserve them and prevent spoilage,” Marcos said.
He said putting up more cold storage facilities would also help ensure fish supply is sufficient and eliminate, if not, reduce the country’s dependence on imports.
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said about 25 to 40 percent of the harvested fish are spoiled due to the shortage in post-harvest equipment like blast freezer and ice making machines, as well as cold storage warehouses and fish landing sites.
Marcos said the initial plans are to build cold storage facilities in major fish ports and to distribute ice-making machines in the smaller ports. He expects these facilities to be operational by the end of this year.
The President, who is also the concurrent secretary of the Department of Agriculture, also talked about modernizing the fishponds and improving mariculture to boost production and eventually bolster the country’s food security and fish output. Mariculture or marine farming is a specialized branch of aquaculture involving cultivation of marine organisms for food and other animal products.
Marcos said government is looking at providing credit or loans to fishpond operators and using modern technology to support fish pond and fish cage production especially of the more expensive fish varieties for export.
He said there is a big market for the export of garoupa, siganid and snapper.
“We will make a plan to encourage investors to go into mariculture not just to help the fishermen but also for value added,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Land Bank of Philippines and the provincial government of Bohol have partnered for the rollout of a fish buy-back scheme that will provide local fishers a sure market for their daily catch while reducing the retail price of fish in the province.
Under the program, the provincial government of Bohol will directly buy the fish catch of local fishers’ associations and handle the sales to partner trader groups.
Land Bank will ensure the availability of affordable financing to support the operations of participating parties and facilitate the disbursement of cashless payments under the partnership.
In a statement, Land Bank said the agreement was formally signed by Bohol Governor Erico Aristotle Aumentado and the bank’s president and chief executive officer Cecilia Cayosa Borromeo, last Friday at the Bohol Provincial Capitol in Tagbilaran City.
Under the partnership, Land Bank will also provide loans to 25 participating fishers’ associations through the Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, to support the acquisition of equipment including fishing boats, marine engines and fish nets, as well as production inputs for fish cage culture.
The bank will also extend loans to 10 partner fish vendor and trader groups for the purchase of local fish catch from the provincial government, including its commercial distribution at a price lower than the prevailing market price.
Land Bank approved P162.8 million in loans for 17 fishers’ associations and 7 fish trader groups to jumpstart the program. Participants are set to enjoy an annual interest rate of as low as 2 percent, with a repayment period of five years, payable every six months from the date of the initial drawdown.
the provincial government of Bohol is expected to officially implement the fish buy-back program in the four priority municipalities of Talibon, Bien Unido, Getafe and Buenavista within the month at the earliest.
There are plans of an eventual roll-out in other parts of the province.
The fish buy-back program is also set to adopt a cashless arrangement to promote the province’s push for faster and more secure disbursement of funds with all payments between the provincial government, fishers’ associations and trader groups to be facilitated through Land Bank’s iAccess and weAccess facilities. – with Jed Macapagal
