Bohol fishers’ group receives livelihood grants for income sustainability

MINERVA BC NEWMAN

BOHOL Province– The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) under the Department of Agriculture (DA) in Central Visayas granted the Bongbong Tree Planters Association (BTPA) from Ubay town, Bohol with one-unit tilapia floating cage and 10,000 tilapia fingerlings from its Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) program through the Bohol Provincial Fishery Office (PFO).

According to Bohol PFO head Candido Samijon that the office gave out 10,000 tilapia fingerlings to the association and a set of construction materials for the building of the group’s second tilapia floating cage. The new floating cage, which cost over P100,000 is an addition to one existing unit managed by the association that was given in 2019 and these fishery inputs and materials are funded under SAAD 2020.

Samijon said that the floating cage and fingerlings were part of the livelihood assistance including the formal turnover of the DA7-aided Small Water Impounding Project (SWIP) from Ubay Municipal Government to BTPA held on February 26 at the SWIP site in Barangay Bongbong.

The Tilapia fingerlings were sourced out from the Clarin Freshwater Fish Farm, a BFAR-7 facility in Clarin, Bohol.  With the fingerlings are fish feeds that are enough for the entire cycle in rearing the tilapia, Samijon added.

Of the 10,000 fingerlings, 5,000 of which were stocked inside the old floating cage and the other half were dispersed outside the cage or at the communal water, Samijon bared that the association is expected to harvest about 900 kilograms of grown tilapia from the 5,000 fingerlings.

“If each kilogram is sold at P100, the group will have an estimated revenue of P90,000 from the harvest that is scheduled this coming July or August.  An increase in production and income is even anticipated once the additional floating cage is completed,” Samijon stated.

Samijon also hoped that the association manages well the assistance given to them from the government to further buoy up the project, which could also contribute to the growth of the aquaculture industry in the province.

BFAR-7 lauded DA-7 for allowing the bureau to use the SWIP for aquaculture activities. The project is expected to thrive because DA-7 pushes for the improvement of Tilapia production in Ubay and the tilapia grow-out culture may also complement the proposed establishment of tilapia hatchery in that town.

According to DA-7 that expanding the project is doable because the SWIP can accommodate a maximum of 15 units floating cage.  The Bohol PFO has been monitoring the status and progress of the SAAD-funded project in Bohol since 2019 and has been giving technical assistance to the 70-member association to sustain the fishery project that has developed in years.

The association is expected to manage the project on their own for the members not to rely mainly on government assistance and to run the fishery enterprise independently which could fuel their source of income.

The goal of SAAD programs is to empower small-scale fisherfolk and form individuals into a cooperative to maximize government’s resources to boost their productivity income to alleviate the poverty status among the marginal farmers in the agriculture/fishery sector. (Photos: DA-BFAR-7)