May 25, 2017

The Philippine government's lack of support for fisheries and aquaculture was highlighted at the 2nd National Aquaculture Summit, which is being held simultaneously with the Livestock Philippines Expo and Aquaculture Philippines until Friday, May 26.

The Philippines is currently ranked No. 12 globally in production volume, but because of its vast

coastal and inland resources it can potentially be among the top 5 global producers.

In his talk on the first day of the summit on Wednesday, Dr. Gilberto Llanto, president of the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, pointed out that the budget allotted for aquaculture represented only a very small portion of the total budget for agriculture, adding that too much emphasis is being put on rice production.

"Fisheries and aquaculture play second fiddle to the DA (Department of Agriculture) centralised commodity programs, such as rice and corn", he said.

In fact, he said, some 1.6 million small fishers who have a high incidence of poverty, may potentially benefit from improved aquaculture.

Llanto also disclosed that as of September 2015, only half of 80 aquaculture facilities nationwide are fully functioning.

Among others, Llanto said that private-public sector partnership/collaboration is imperative to improve the industry's condition.-Rick Alberto