Philippines mulls larger budget for fisheries sector

The Department of Agriculture (DA) in the Philippines plans to allocate a PHP1 billion (US$21.6 million) budget for the fisheries sector, particularly for aquaculture, next year.

The fisheries sector in the past few years has been the major growth driver for the agriculture sector, taking up the slack from the crops sector which is always affected by adverse weather conditions.

The sector, which accounts for 26.63% of total agricultural production, posted a growth of 3.28% from January to September this year. Aquaculture production increased 4.5% in the first three quarters of 2009, while commercial fisheries production grew 3.75%.Municipal fisheries posted a meagre 0.21% output growth in 2009.

Meanwhile, two DA agencies have partnered with a Bangkok-based regional fisheries centre to carry out three aquaculture projects in the Visayas and Mindanao in order to develop the aquaculture industry.

The projects of the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Centre (SEAFDEC) are being carried out with the support of the DA's Bureau of Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and National Irrigation Administration (NIA).

They cover the town of Dumarao in Capiz and the provinces of Misamis Occidental and Northern Samar and also involve the local government units of these areas as well as other foreign funding agencies.

According to Dr. Joebert Toledo, director of the SEAFDEC-AQD based in Tigbauan, Iloilo, the Capiz project involves freshwater aquaculture production.

BFAR provided funds for the purchase of construction materials to build fish cages, and in Misamis Occidental, the SEAFDEC-AQD provided technical assistance in improving the production of the province's aquamarine park multi-species hatchery by extending technologies it had developed on the hatchery and grow-out of grouper, with BFAR monitoring the implementation of the project, Toledo said.

SEAFDEC-AQD has been carrying out research, technology generation, training and information dissemination on a wide range of aquaculture disciplines, including management of broodstock and seed quality improvement, promotion of responsible and environment-friendly aquaculture, diagnosis and control of aquaculture diseases, aquaculture for stock enhancement and culture of aquatic species under international concerns.