Piloting in the island province of Palawan, the Department of Agriculture, for the very first time, distributed 38-footer fiberglass reinforced plastic (FRP) boats to local fishers in line with the government’s target to produce accessible and affordable food.
Each double-engine FRP boat, with a built-in ice cooler amounts to P180,000, will be shared by five families.
“This is to ensure that the fishing vessels will be used for fishing activities and will be maximized by more than one individual,” Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol said.
“Huwag po ninyong ibebenta ang mga bangkang ito,” DA Chief appealed as he challenged each LGU to participate in the DA’s Cleanest Coastal Community campaign contest, wherein the area must have no illegal fishing activity and must observe the “closed fishing season; there should be a protected marine sanctuary; clean coastal waters; and must have a program for mangrove protection and rehabilitation.
Out of the ninety-six units of boats distributed, 70 will be shared by 350 families, 24 will be distributed to 24 local government units (LGU), while the remaining two will be used as patrol boats for the Bantay Palawan initiative.
The boats form part of the P44.33 million (M) fishery assistance from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources delivered to the island province during the Tapatan: Gobyerno at Mamamayan, Talakayan at Tulong Pangkabuhayan para sa Sektor ng Agrikultura at Pangisdaan Palawan held at the Municipal gymnasium of Brooke’s Point on February 16, 2017. BFAR also distributed livelihood packages which included sets of gillnet, hook and line, seaweed farming implements, and marine engines, among others.
The DA-Regional Field Office IV-B (MIMAROPA), for its part provided P25-M worth of agricultural goods including farm inputs and implements.
Piñol announced that in March this year, a team from the United States of America will visit Palawan to assess the fish drying facilities in the area and will present a drying machine designed for “tuyo” and mangoes.
“In demand ang tuyo sa Amerika,” he said. “And with the drying machine, we will be able to make world-class dried fish that is free from contamination,” he added.
In other matters, Piñol announced that the Department will not allow mango growers to transport their products outside of Palawan until the area is cleared from weevil because it will affect the entire country’s mango industry.
As such, the DA will provide irradiation machine that will detect and kill weevils in infected mangoes. He also asked the mango growers to organize themselves and implement good agricultural practices in mango production to help contain or eliminate the spread of mango pulp weevil in Palawan.
In line with this, the DA will help the Palawan mango growers by providing drying facilities and mango processing equipment that would make world-class processed mangoes.
“Magpapadesign tayo ng machine na magagawa ang dried mango processing at mango puree hanggang sa canning at ready to market para hindi na kailangang ilabas ang manga na fresh,” explained Piñol.
“For everything that the government gives you, sana po ay ingatan ninyo ito sapagkat hindi ito darating ng taon-taon. This will come once in a lifetime,” he added as he promised to come back to assess what has been done. ### (Jo Ann Grace B. Pera, DA-AFID)
