Monday, March 19, 2007 Mountain Province farmers shift to tilapia production
SEVERAL farmers in Mountain Province have shifted to tilapia production after discovering that with proper application of new technology, they could earn higher income with lesser labor cost and minimal farm inputs.
Arsenia Bolasco of the Provincial Agriculturist Office (PAO) said 993 farmers provincewide are now engaging in tilapia production. Many of the farmers are from the town of Natonin.
An area of 17.4868 hectares, with Natonin having the biggest area of 5.4565 hectares, is being utilized for tilapia production composed of fishponds, fish tanks, ice-fish culture and rice-fish culture alternate wherein after harvesting the first crop on rice, fish production takes place.
The rice-fish culture alternate is being done in Barangays Bila, Banao and Guinzadan in the town Bauko. There is also a cage culture in Gawaan Lake being managed by the Gawaan Lakers Fisher folks Association of Bana-ao, Tadian, and raceway system or river rine fish production.
Seen as an alternative source of livelihood for the farmers to increase their income and to ensure food on the table, Bolasco said the Mountain Province Provincial Government allotted P544,000 since 2005 for the procurement of tilapia fingerlings which were distributed free to the fish farmers.
As of last month, there were already 1,054,685 fingerlings distributed to 993 fish farmers. A counterpart of the recipients is the provision of plastic bags for the fingerlings and fuel use to haul fingerlings from the fish hatcheries in Isabela.
Aside from the free fingerlings from the province, the Bureau of Fish and Aquatic Resources (Bfar) also provided 183,000 tilapia fingerlings, which were distributed free to the fish farmers in the province. It has also given 2,000 tilapia breeders, which were distributed to fish farmers in the municipalities of Sabangan, Sagada, Tadian, Bontoc and Paracelis.
The Bfar also distributed 2,000 pieces of hito to fish farmers of Supang, Sabangan and provided some bags of feeds for the cage culture in Gawaan Lake. It also provided financial assistance for hatcheries.
The latest assistance given by the agency was P81,000 for Natonin hatcheries, Bolasco said.
He said farmers were easily convinced to shift from rice to fish production. Aside from high demand and good price of locally produced tilapia now sold at P100 per kilo, fish farmers realized that maintaining fishponds is easier, requires minimal farm inputs and lower labor cost and they are producing twice as much compared to rice/vegetable production.
There are already four hatcheries established in the province located in Barangays Malegcong and Dantay, Bontoc; Sumadel, Tadian; and Supang, Sabangan, which could cater to the needs of individuals who are interested in investing in this kind of livelihood. They are selling the fingerlings at a minimal price ranging from P0.50 to P1 per piece.
