Saturday, September 22, 2007 Group welcomes P3M aid
THE Seaweed Industry Association of the Philippines (SIAP) lauded the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) for extending financial assistance of P3 million to 40 people’s organizations (PO) assisting seaweed (guso) farmers in Central Visayas.
Benson Dakay, SIAP president and chief executive officer of Cebu-based Shemberg Corp., said he welcomes any initiative from the government to assist the country’s seaweed processing industry, adding that it does not matter if the beneficiaries are not members of the association.
“Any farmer nga matagaan, mas maayo. Welcome kayo na namo,” he told Sun.Star Cebu. (Any farmer getting assistance is a welcomed development.)
He said the financial assistance will be useful in the acquisition of new technologies that can enhance the productivity of seaweed farmers.
Tiburcio Donaire, BFAR 7 fisheries extension training and community division chief, earlier said the financial aid is in response to the call of the Tam-buyong Development Center for government to support seaweed farmers.
Donaire had said BFAR will provide a minimum of P30,000 to a maximum of P200,000 in financial aide to qualified POs.
He said a farmer needs around P70,000 to maintain a one-hectare seaweed farm. There are more than 1,000 hectares of planted seaweed in Central Visayas. Most of these seaweed farms are in Bohol with 700 hectares.
In Cebu, seaweed farming has become the livelihood of some families in Bantayan, Gilutongan Island in Cordova and in Lapu-Lapu City, among others.
As part of its assistance program to seaweed farmers, BFAR introduced a new technology that involves “planting” seaweeds in deeper waters. The method involves higher costs but is expected to increase harvest.
Department of Agriculture Undersec-retary Jesus Emmanuel Paras earlier said some of the National Government’s fisheries programs next year will include investments for post harvest facilities and the establishment of more mari-culture parks in the country.
Dakay said any proposal from the government at this stage, when the Philippine seaweed export industry is suffering from the effects of the peso’s appreciation and the shortage of raw materials, will bring a “huge sigh of relief” for seaweed farmers and traders.
“You can’t sell any product less than $5.25 per kilo nowadays,” he said, adding that the increase in prices of Philippine exports has made local exporters less competitive. (MMM)
