BFAR gets 300x more funds

For livelihood assistance

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol (PIA)—Barring any more inclement weather that can severely impact the fisheries industry, a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) key official here reports a 320% increase in the agency’s budget for livelihood for Bohol.

Speaking at the Kapihan sa PIA, Bohol Fisheries Officer Candido Samijon said from P16 million, budget for livelihood in 2025 reached P50 million, adding that perhaps the national government has seen the need for the increase.

This too as the Central Visayas posted a 17.5% increase in fish production.

To this, the fisheries officer in Bohol credits the favourable climate and the effects of the projects, programs and activities implemented by the national, provincial and municipal governments now baring the benefits to communities.

Updating listeners about local fisheries, Samijon said the rehabilitated production facilities which were severely affected by the series of calamities that wrecked the fisheries sector years ago, are now back in line.

“Our facilities started to operate, we have finished rehabilitation programs, plus the continued implementation of programs that improve fish production,” the fishery officer quickly added, when asked what factored in for the increase in production and the apparent stabilizing fish prices.

It may be recalled that immediately after typhoon Odette in 2021, fisheries sector reported massive damage that even individual marginal fishermen lost their boats, fishponds bursting their dikes and fish cages crushed by the super-typhoon, rendering the industry widespread losses.

The combination of tidal surges, destructive winds that blew roofs of houses also ruined post production facilities when the power went off, driving the supposed advancement to decades back.

Lost facilities include fish cages, fish pens, fish corrals, fishing implements, boats, post harvest processing facilities like ice plants, cold storage facilities and even capital.

Three years later, with government hand holding communities to recover from the catastrophe, fisheries seemed to have rebounded, also noted consumers who have been complaining about fish prices a year ago.

For Bohol, a world Bank Funded project called FISHCORE (Fisheries for Coastal Resiliency) is being implemented in the country’s two Fisheries Management Areas and incidentally including 17 towns of Bohol from Panglao to President Carlos P Garcia, generally those towns facing the Mindanao Sea as the shared FMA 9, explained Samijon during the live-streamed developmental communications program.

Spearheaded by Department of Agriculture through BFAR, the project aims to contribute to improved food security and resilient ecosystems and communities by improving the management of fisheries resources and enhancing the value of fisheries production to coastal communities in the FMAs.

Set for implementation from 2023 to 2029, FishCore has in the pipeline funds for projects in Bohol that are for implementation, in procurement stage of project evaluation stage according to BFAR.

Set for implementation are two fish cage projects for Guindulman and Jagna at P2.4 million each, oyster culture for two areas at P2 million each and proposed enterprise development projects at P10 M each, to ease up the fisheries by presenting alternative livelihood projects than communities can collaborate and operate, he summed.

And beyond that, a forum next week here in Bohol has the potential for more FishCore funds for the 17 towns here, as authorities would not only present results and validation of the gathered data, it would also be the opportunity for other areas to present their letters or expressions of interest and their proposals, he added.

As to the BFAR projects, the P50M funding would be another huge addition to keeping Bohol’s protein supply through fisheries literally flying high.

In its livelihood support, BFAR has funded Lambaklad projects, parakaya, fish cage grants, fish pens and even the provision of fingerlings and breeders a steady supply of high quality fish from aquaculture and marine eco-parks. (PIABohol)

BETTER YEAR. 2025 appears to be a better year, as the fish production facilities that were destroyed by a series of calamities in 2021 and 2022 have slowly recovered, coupled with the continued implementation of government programs and projects that increase fish harvest, shares Bohol PFO Candido Samijon at the Kapihan sa PIA. (PIABohol)