Senate OKs bill revitalizing dying salt industry

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate has unanimously approved on final reading a bill, which outlines measures aimed at revitalizing the salt industry and boosting production by salt farmers.

In Senate Bill 2243, a Philippine Salt Industry Development Roadmap will be formulated. The roadmap will include programs, projects and interventions for the development and management, research, processing, utilization, modernization, and commercialization of Philippine salt. 

A 16-member Philippine Salt Industry Development Council, headed by the Department of Agriculture secretary, will be also established.

Despite having a coastline 11 times larger than Vietnam, the country only produces 100,000 metric tons of salt compared to its Southeast Asian neighbor’s 1.1 million MT, according to the Philippine Association of Salt Industry Networks.

“This implies the need to revitalize the dying salt industry. We need to meet the growing demand of Filipino households and the additional annual demand for 300,000 metric tons of salt as coconut fertilizer,” said Sen. Cynthia Villar, chair of the agriculture committee and principal sponsor of the bill

If passed, the measure will assign the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to identify and designate public lands, including portions of municipal waters, as salt production areas. 

DENR will transfer public lands suitable for salt production under its administrative jurisdiction to BFAR.

The proposed measure will also lease public land for salt production for a 25-year period, renewable for another 25 years, for use as farms. 

The House of Representatives approved its version of the measure in May.