Legislative Agenda #6! Support Aquaculture Industry With Free Fingerlings, Cages

With 36,289-kilometers of coastline, the 5th longest in the world, and so many coves and bays in the many islands, the Philippines could be a major Aquaculture producer in the world.
Aquaculture is our best option to achieve Fish Sufficiency because Capture Fishing is no longer reliable given the depletion of our fish due to overfishing and the effects of Climate Change.
When I was Secretary of Agriculture, nakita ko kung paano napabayaan through the years ang fisheries sector and how poor planning has made the country a fish importer in spite of its potentials to become a major producer.
Ang mga government hatcheries in the different islands are so small and poorly maintained at mas malaki pa ang operational expense kaysa value ng fry or fingerlings produced.
Ipinaayos ko ang mga hatcheries and I issued a directive to all Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Directors to establish at least 300 fish cages in each region.
These little innovations helped fisheries post a negligible postive growth which was remarkable because it was the first time in decades that fisheries posted a positive growth.
What are the things that we need to boost Aquaculture in the country?
1. Government must fund the establishment of at least major Hatcheries of all species, especially Bangus and Grouper or Lapulapu in Mindanao, Visayas and Luzon.
As of today, 50% of our Bangus fry still comes from our neighbor Indonesia and what we have are community hatcheries which obviously lack the technical and financial support.
2. Support our fishpond and fish cage farmers with free fry/fingerlings and subsidized Aqua feeds for a period of five years para makausad lang.
Just as we support our rice and corn farmers with seeds, fertilizer and machinery, government must also boost Aquaculture by giving out free fish cages, automatic feeders, paddle wheels and other equipment needed to boost production.
Sa mga rice farmers libre ang tractors, harvesters, rice processing complexes, bakit hindi din natin gawin para sa Aquaculture Industry.
All that we need is a 5-Year Period of Total Support for the Aquaculture Sector and our country will not only be Fish Sufficient but also a major exporter of Bangus, Tilapia, Lapulapu, Vanamei and even the high value Sea Cucumber.
What needs to be done to complete our Fish Sufficiency Program would be a ready market through the proposed Food Terminal Inc. (FTI) and an. export program to be handled by the National Food Authority (NFA).
#GovernanceIsCommonSense!
#KungGustoMaramingParaan!