TABUK CITY, Kalinga – Around 33 small-scale fisherfolks from Barangay Dupag receive their tilapia fingerlings from the Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources-Kalinga through the Office of the City Agricultural Services (OCAS) on May 28, 2020.
SAAD Coordinator Noemi Nadnaden said that prior the distribution the bureau validated and assessed the beneficiaries’ existing fishponds.
She said that to be part of the project, a registered fisherfolk must have a fishpond with a maximum area of 200 sq.m. Five fingerlings is given per sq.m. of fishpond. Apart from the tilapia fingerlings, the beneficiaries, who are considered poorest of the poor also received fry mash, grower, finisher, pre-starter and starter pellets.
Dispersal for the next batches of fisherfolk recipients from the city will depend on the availability of the fingerlings, she said.
Elsie Babalan, 52, one of the beneficiaries thanked the BFAR for the initiative of helping them in their livelihood.
Another beneficiary was 44-year-old Wilma Wailan, who was engaged in tilapia production for five years also expressed her gratitude saying that the provision of said fingerlings is a savings on her part.
Based on the records of the OCAS, there are 1,400 registered individual fisherfolks in the city where 162 are SAAD-qualified.
By Darwin Serion
