SIQUIJOR, September 25, 2020 – The Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) Program of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Region 7 helped 67 fisherfolks through a Pond Culture Technology project worth Php 600,000.00 in the town of Lazi.

The project was granted with 5000 Tilapia  fingerlings, starter to grower feed inputs, and other post-harvest equipment for tilanggit (tilapiang danggit) production. The beneficiaries converted an abandoned area of 1,000 m2 in Barangay Canggomantong for the establishment of the Pond Culture Technology project.

The said project is part of the SAAD-aided project Capture Fisheries Project which has been a work in progress for three consecutive years. Every year, the bureau prepares the beneficiaries to become independent so that, in the succeeding years, they can operate on their own.

In 2018, the said beneficiaries received individual livelihood assistance, such as drift gill nets, fiberglass reinforced plastic boats, fish cages, among others. In the following year, they were grouped into clusters and were engaged in training and skills development and other services, aiming to form the individual fisherfolks into an association in the third year of project implementation for them to sustain and manage fish pond as a startup of community enterprise.

Meanwhile, Siquijor Provincial Fishery Office recognized the progress of the project and the effort of the  members in sustaining it. The Lazi fisherfolks have worked tirelessly and actively to realize the proposed activities.

Soon enough, they will have to structure their organization, run the project on their own, expand it into a profitable business, and handle their own finances. 

With higher productivity and income, these fisherfolks who have been tagged as among the poorest sector, can now sustain the basic needs of their families. One of the main objectives of the SAAD program is to uplift the living conditions of these marginal fishermen.

The bureau intends to empower these small-scale fisherfolks into an independent and self-sustaining association and instead of relying mainly on the government projects, they are now the ones contributing to the region’s aquaculture production. ###

Source: Zosimo Caylap, BFAR 7 – Siquijor PFO Planning Officer

Copy editor: Jemiema D.R. Arro, PR & Comms Officer- SAAD NPMO