Dar seeks tripled fisheries budget

MANILA, Philippines —  The fisheries sector’s annual budget to around P12 billion will increase production and prevent the need to import more fish products such as galunggong, according to  the Department of Agriculture (DA).

In an interview with ANC, Agriculture Secretary William Dar underscored  the need to increase the fisheries sector’s budget to P12 billion from the current P4 billion.

Dar stressed the lack of budget for fisheries, despite its nearly 15 percent contribution to the gross value added (GVA) in agriculture.

“There’s so much to do in terms of providing  the fishing gears of fisherfolk and developing hatcheries and the likes. There’s so much to be done to make it at a level where we can have more local production in the country,” Dar said.

He also emphasized the need to use modern technologies and innovations to boost production in the local fisheries sector.

Latest figures from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the volume of fisheries production declined by 0.2 percent to 971,501 metric tons (MT) in the first quarter.

“Decreases in production were noted in commercial and marine municipal fisheries, while aquaculture and inland municipal fisheries pulled up their outputs,” the PSA said.

As fisheries production declined, Dar recently allowed the importation of 39,695 metric tons of fish and fishery products in the second quarter.

Asked how much budget  the fisheries sectors would need for it to stop importing galunggong, Dar said P12 billion would be a good budget level.

Dar earlier said  the 38,695 MT comprised the remaining certificates of necessity to import (CNI) volume from the previously approved  60,000 MT volume in the first quarter.

He said the second quarter also coincides with the closed fishing season in the Davao region, which spans from June to August every year.

“We continue to monitor fish prices, which are now slightly increasing, and the decision to extend the CNI is part of the price stabilization efforts of the government,” Dar said.

In a Facebook post, BFAR director Eduardo Gongona shared the same sentiments with Dar, saying  importation is only done to fill in the gaps of what the local sector can’t produce.

“Improving local fish production is paramount. We only import what we cannot produce. Only if there is a need,”Gongona said.

Gongona, however, said that more funding would be needed to boost local fisheries production.

“Capacitating the municipal fishing sector is costly. It needs a lot of funding,”he said as he cited  the need to provide 62 fishing boats to 928 coastal communities in the country.

For the aquaculture sector, Gongona highlighted the need for post harvest facilities to preserve the quality of fish.

“We need the private sector to invest heavily and aggressively in aquaculture. That’s a solution,”he said.

In March, Dar shared that a P1 billion budget would be allocated to boost aquaculture and mariculture fisheries production under the Plant, Plant, Plant 2 program, which is part of the government’s efforts to cushion the impact of the Russia-Ukraine crisis on the country’s food security.