The Pangasinan provincial government targets to produce over 100 million bangus (milkfish) fry and 48 million bangus larvae annually with the construction of a breeding and hatchery to provide the need of local producers.
Pangasinan Governor Ramon Guico III, in an interview on Wednesday, said demand for bangus fry and larvae in the province alone reaches over 500 million annually.
“Most of the bangus fry and larvae are being imported from other countries like Indonesia whereas with our own breeding and hatchery area, it will now be locally sourced,” he said.
Components of the project include seven units of broodstock tanks, 120 units of larval rearing tanks, 24 units of rotifer tanks, an administrative and laboratory building, staff quarters, a triplex building, a two-unit pump house and an intake pump, according to the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist.
The construction of the bangus breeding and hatchery project, which will begin in 2024 at the agriculture field station in the village of Arnedo in Bolinao town, is a World Bank-assisted project worth PHP239 million.
The WB will shoulder 80 percent of the cost, while the share of the national government and the provincial government will be at 10 percent each.
The project is under the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) Scale-Up of the Department of Agriculture, and is aimed to further support the government’s effort to improve farmers and fishermen’s access to markets as well as increase income from selected agri-fishery value chains.
Around 17 municipalities in the province are expected will benefit from the project, specifically around 39,399 fisherfolk, 63 bangus nursery operators and a bangus satellite hatchery operator.
Pangasinan is the country’s leading producer of bangus and has contributed over 28 percent of the country’s total production. (PNA)
