Region 2 fast turning into ‘tilapia country’

Cagayan Valley is gradually but consistently turning into a "tilapia country."

This is achieved by the rapid growth of the tilapia industry in the region over the past few years.

Such growth can be attributed considerably to scientific interventions provided by the government, particularly the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) through the Consultancy on Agricultural Productivity Enhancement (CAPE) Program of the DOST-Technology Application and Promotion Institute (TAPI) and the DA-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).

One significant indicator is the increase of fish sufficiency level in the region from 21 percent in 1999 to 40 percent in 2002.

Initially, the fishfarm operators had very low production output owing to their lack of technical knowledge on proper aquaculture management since most of them used traditional practices in growing tilapia.

The technical assistance provided through CAPE and DOST’s S&T Expert Volunteers Poor Program (STEVPP) included the provision of quality fingerlings to operators, training on the latest techniques on aquaculture management, endorsement of beneficiaries to training at the BFAR-National Freshwater Fisheries Technology Center in Muñoz (Nueva Ecija), assistance to hatchery operators and beneficiaries in organizing cooperatives and marketing their products, and introduction of the sex reversed technology (SRT) tilapia to hatchery operation.

In 2002, the farm beneficiaries produced 10.3 million quality fingerlings which generated an income of P1.9 million. Their grow-out farms yielded 294,000 kilograms of tilapia valued at P13.5 million.

Likewise, the beneficiaries were able to organize the Cagayan Valley Fisherfok Multi-Purpose Cooperative, the only fishery cooperative in the region. – Rudy A. Fernandez