As the Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) implementation continues in the Cordillera, SAADvocacy does, too.
In the Cordillera, two provinces are included among the beneficiaries of the SAAD program which is Kalinga and Mountain Province. Thus, for the second year of implementation this year, a total of P12 million worth of aquaculture inputs was earmarked for each province.
In Mtn. Province, the targeted aquaculture projects for 2020 include 850 units technology demonstration projects composed of pond culture, rice fish culture, loach culture and fish cage culture; 40 units fishing gears and 4 units non-motorized banca.
As per record, PFO Mtn. Province had already distributed 618 units of aquaculture projects and rendered 43 technical assistance which corresponds to almost 78% accomplishment of SAAD program implementation in the province for 2020. From this effort, 990 fisherfolk got benefitted from the distributed complete package of aquaculture projects in all its municipalities. This is because the Bureau assures that implementation of various projects remains unhindered amidst the COVID – 19 pandemic.
The increase of recorded qualified and interested beneficiaries is the result of the impacts of previous implementations in 2019 showcasing that fish farming is a good alternative source of income to farmers, and more are being enticed to such venture.
One example is Bastian Doligas, a fisherfolk from Sagada Mtn. Province, who was provided with 1000 tilapia fingerlings and was stocked last December 17. After seven months of culture, Doligas harvested 164.5 kg of tilapia ranging from 3 to 8 pcs per kilo on July 28, 2020. The produce were marketed within the community at Php 150.00 per kilo, for a total of Php 24, 675.00.
With the result of the harvest, some of the project beneficiaries opted to expand their areas up to the maximum of 200 square meters from the minimum area of 80 – 120 sq meters. To date,
there are already 4, 650 registered fisherfolk in Mtn. Province who are also interested to avail of the same project inputs. Before venturing to aquaculture, most of the beneficiaries used to cultivate rice as their main source of living.
Despite the border entry protocols, the bureau still manages to deliver these project inputs in coordination with the Local Government Units through their respective fishery coordinators.
Beneficiaries of each town were provided with fingerlings like hito and tilapia. Thus, for the month of July, Mtn Province received a total of 245, 000 pcs of fingerlings composed of 175, 000 pcs tilapia and 70, 000 pcs hito.
Inputs were hauled from the Provincial Fishery Office in Bontoc, but prior to distribution, beneficiaries were oriented, and their areas were validated.
“This is a good challenge for them to work on since they felt the continuous assistance of the bureau through this kind of intervention. We are also glad to distribute project inputs (fingerlings) for them.”, the fishery coordinators stated.
Through the SAAD program, Mountain Province was able to receive funding of about P37 Million worth of various fisheries interventions and the three-year implementation (2019-2021) has been flourishing.
SAAD is a locally funded program of the Department of Agriculture intended to help alleviate poverty among the marginalized sectors in agriculture and fisheries. So, the bureau guarantees that amidst the COVID -19 pandemic, continuous aid will be provided to the beneficiaries to give them additional yield and to increase the fish sufficiency level in the region.**
