BFAR ups seaweed farming budget to P265M

CEBU, Philippines - The Philippine government, through the Bureau of Fisheries & Aquatic Resources (BFAR) is going to increase its budget for the seaweed farming sector this year to take advantage of the increasing demand for raw and refined seaweed resources around the world.

BFAR senior agriculturist and National Seaweed Coordinator Isidro M. Velayo Jr, said in an interview with The Freeman that the budget is now up to P265 million to increase the production of seaweed-producing islands across the country.

Last year, the Department of Agriculture(DA), only allocated P40 million for the development to seaweed farming.

According to Velayo, part of the plan is to create a strong cooperative system among seaweed farmers, and hook them directly to the buyers, in order to minimize the trend of raw seaweed importation by the seaweed processors in the Philippines, due to shortage of supply.

Reportedly, seaweed processors and exporters are getting their excess requirement of raw seaweed from Indonesia.

In 2011, seaweed production only increased by 2.9 percent in the Philippines, the same level of growth had been projected by the end of 2012.

Velayo said with the increased budget given to the seaweed industry, the government hopes to double the production volume of farmers in 2013.

A roadmap for seaweed farming and seaweed industry will be formulated this year, as well as the creation of National Seaweed Center to concretize and disseminate “true” information of demand, price direct to the producers or farmers.

The National Seaweed Center will monitor the market price of seaweed and will be disseminated to seaweed farmers’ organizations around the Philippines. Thus, BFAR in partnership with the Seaweed Industry Association of the Philippines (SIAP) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is currently updating the list of farmers.

Because of the unresolved shortage of supply, forcing seaweed processing plants to import from Indonesia, the government has decided to increase the budget allocation for the industry, to help the farmers produce more, while the demand in significantly increasing.

At present, the Philippines only produce an estimate of 180 thousand metric tons raw seaweed, way beyond the industry’s needs, Isidro said.

Also, the increased budget of P265 million will be used to provide technical training for farmers how to increase production, providing dyers to farmers, and increasing the number of seedlings to be made available to farmers, among other development programs.

Although there is a shortage of the production of raw seaweed in the country, the Philippines is also exporting about 20 percent to 25 percent of its total production.

Isidro said in order to satisfy the needs for the seaweed processing plants here, as well as the demand from export, the Philippines should work hard in taking advantage of this opportunity, thereby benefiting the seaweed farmers in the Philippines.

The seaweed industry in the Philippines  which primarily provides the food-grade specie of seaweed grown in the Philippine shores, is providing livelihood to over 100 thousand families all across the country.

In Central Visayas, the seaweed production dropped by 1.1 percent in the last quarter this year, due to frequent rain and scarcity of planting materials.

According to Isidro, BFAR is increasing its seedling inventory, as well as expanding the availability of farm units, of which about 25,401 farm units will be implemented in the next few months. (FREEMAN)