SIQUIJOR, May 26, 2021- Through the Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) Program’s FY 2020 Milkfish (Bangus) Culture Project, the Tinago Farmers and Fisherfolk Association sold 1,200 kilograms bangus worth Php 167,000 from successive harvests on May 13, 19, and 26.

From the total sales, 60% will be divided by the 15 members (Php 100,451; Php 6,696 per member) while the remaining 40% (Php 66,967) will be kept for the next stocking or cropping season.

The harvested bangus also gave the townsfolk the opportunity to buy fresh and affordable fish, which were sold at market prices between Php 160 and Php 180.

Tinago Farmers and Fisherfolk Association

The group harvested the bangus from an existing four-year-old 1,044 square meters fish pen installed in the coastal waters of Barangay Tinago.

The construction of the fish pen project started in 2017 with funding from a different program – the Targeted Actions to Reduce Poverty and Generate Economic Transformation (TARGET).

In 2020, through the Department of Agriculture – Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in Central Visayas (DA-BFAR Region 7), the SAAD program subsidized the continuation of its existing project. The program coordinators earmarked Php 137,105 for the 6,000 bangus fingerlings (Php 42,000) and 102 bags of feeds (Php 95,105) which were delivered on December 4.

The recent progress marks a huge impact to the association, helping them and their families sustain their livelihood and income amid the pandemic.

SAAD is a locally-funded program that intends to help alleviate the poverty status among the marginalized communities both in the agriculture and fishery sectors. ###

Source: Zosimo Caylap, BFAR 7 – Siquijor Provincial Fishery Office
Writer: May Miasco-Cabucos, Information Officer- BFAR Region 7
Copy-editor: Natalianne Marie O. Delos Reyes, PR and Communications Officer- SAAD NPMO