Bunawan, Agusan del Sur (Late Post) – The fisherfolks of this town beside the vast Agusan Marsh are seeking support from President Rody Duterte so they could establish a better processing facility for one of Mindanao’s unique products – dried Mudfish or “Daing na Dalag.”
On Thursday, the fisherfolks and their wives, most of whom are involved in the processing of “Dalag” into a delicacy which Bunawan and other towns surrounding the 14,800-hectare marsh are known for, waited from noon until early evening for the team from the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) which I personally headed.
Bunawan municipal officials led by Mayor Baby Elorde and Vice Mayor Toto Elorde brought the MinDA team to a small village where the dried mudfish is processed.
The MinDA team, which is now validating all proposed sites for the Mindanao Fisheries and Aquaculture Development Program (MINFAD) “Fish Centers,” arrived behind schedule from Mati City, Davao Oriental where a Fisheries and Aquaculture Summit was held earlier on Thursday.
Seeing the fisherfolks and their wives in near uniforms who waited for hours patiently in a makeshift meeting area and listening intently to the MINFAD Program which I presented, deeply touched me.
Actually, I visited this town in early 2018 following a flood which inundated most of the farmlands around Agusan Marsh and the mighty Agusan River.
They said they have not experienced any flooding over the last two years and now they are earning a living by catching mudfish which they slice up and dry to be sold as “Daing na Dalag.”
Their product carrying the brand name “Fish de Marsh,” while very tasty and considered a delicacy, could not yet be sold in the big market because of the lack of processing and packaging facilities.
They said they needed a small ice-making equipment, a Fish Drying Facility, including a vacuum packaging machine, and a sanitary structure which would pass the standards of the Food and Drug Administration.
Their requests were all included in the proposed projects to be implemented under the MINFAD Program funded by the European Union under the Mindanao Rise Program.
#LetsWalkAnExtraKilometer!
#ListeningToTheFaintVoices!
#KungGustoMaramingParaan!
(Photos were taken by the MinDA Beauty & Bounty of Mindanao Media Team.)
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