DAVAO Region’s seaweed industry could be dying.
For the Philippines, seaweed is one of the important aquaculture products. And among the species of seaweed, the red seaweed or the Eucheuma comprised 98 percent of the country’s total seaweed production. It contains carrageenan, a hydrocolloid used as a thickening, gelling, and stabilizing agent in industries like food and pharmaceuticals. "Philippine-grade" carrageenan is one of the most reliable inputs in meat processing, processed food, dairy products, condiments, personal care products, and pet food products.
In the Industry, an online database for government policies, export value for carrageenan reached an average of US$101.5 million and amounting to about 13,100 tons per year from 2004 to 2013.
But between 2018 to 2019, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) noted a decline of production by 22.3 percent. The whole country only has produced 1,148,000 metric tons (MT) of seaweed in 2019 compared to the 1,478,300 MT in 2018 while the volume of the rest of the species being monitored such as milkfish, tilapia, tiger prawns, round scad, skipjack, and yellowfin tuna have soared.
Davao Region also recorded a decrease in the seaweed production from about 6,928 MT in 2018 to 5,881 MT last year. And the bulk of the region’s produce or 99 percent came from the seaweed farms in Davao del Sur.
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in Davao Region (BFAR-Davao) attributed this downtrend to the decreasing number of seaweed farmers, particularly in Sta. Cruz and Digos City in Davao del Sur since around five years ago.
Most of the farms closed except for the one in Barangay Tibungco.
BFAR-Davao regional director Fatma Idris said farmers have either turned their seaweed farms to breeding pens for milkfish or sold their areas to interested milkfish farmers because they struggled to gain profit from it. Some of them have abandoned the area and transferred residence.
“Sa seaweeds, sometimes, meron silang problem on marketing. Pag nagkaroon na ng massive growth, marami nang production, binibili barato lang. So hindi convincing sa mga growers (The seaweed farmers struggled in marketing their produce. When they are able to produce more, it is bought at a low price so they get discouraged),” she said.
Most of the farmers prefer producing only enough to be sold in public markets because they can sell it at a fair price rather than supplying for industrial and commercial purposes.
“Dito, yung mga seaweeds binebenta sa palengke na kasi nabibenta naman talaga, mas mahal pa nga kung ibenta mo sa palengke na tag 15 or 20 ang kilo kesa naman mabili ka lang ng 7 ang kilo (They can sell the seaweeds in the market for P15 to P20 per kilogram (kg) compared to P7/kg in wholesale),” she said.
She said some middlemen also exploit the prices, further discouraging the farmers.
These have been a problem in the seaweed industry that the Regional Development Council 11 is trying to address in the Davao Region Industry Cluster Roadmap 2014-2030.
“Seaweeds production in Region XI (Davao) is dominantly contributed by small-scale farmers who are still beset with problems on low productivity due to unfavorable farm location, diseases and vulnerability to the exercise and influence of market powers by rural traders, wholesalers, retailers, and processors,” the report said.
“The produce of the small-scale farmer, on the other hand, has to pass through a series of middlemen before these finally reach the exporters and/or the processors. Because the buying price is determined by the exporters or processors, the small-scale farmers who represent the majority of the producers receive only a small part of the profit. A large chunk goes to the middlemen, assembler or wholesaler,” it added.
In the roadmap, the RDC-Davao suggested that “to solve the problem of low buying price, the growers should seek help from the DTI [Department of Trade and Industry] in order to know the reason for price fluctuation. If the problems discussed will be addressed, seaweed production in the region will increase.”
For the problem of production, the RDC 11 has targeted expand the seaweed farms by an estimated 50 hectares per year beginning 2016 onwards.
To address the low buying price, the Council seeks to form a regional seaweed consolidator and the provision of moisture content tester. Indicators for its completion include the establishment of the consolidator and the participation in trade fairs and promotions.
However, if the closure of seaweed farms have been happening since 2015, the Council could be laying out projects for a dying industry.
Also, the economic progress in the areas of Davao del Sur may also change the direction of the projects set by the Council.
“So far, they [farmers] tend to [go] a different industry kasi alam mo sa Sta. Cruz or Digos, syudad na siya. Mas maraming kabuhayan doon, di lang sa pangisdaan (The farmers tend to go to a different industry because Sta. Cruz or Digos are already cities. There are other jobs there, not only fishing),” Idris said.
“Alam mo negosyo man yan pero sa amin sa pangisdaan, for those na gusto lang talaga nilang trabaho nila, nagshishift lang ang orientation (That is their business. Some just preferred to work),” she added.