CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Amid the furor over government plans to import scad fish or galungggong to address shortage, a fisherfolk’s group noted yesterday that 40 percent of the country’s fish harvests go to waste arising from lack of government support.
The Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) noted yesterday that this estimate was from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) which attributed the losses to “lack of post-harvest facilities and equipment, as well as lack of appropriate marketing, transport and distribution infrastructure.”
“It turns out that BFAR knows the reasons why we are experiencing shortage and even has funds to solve these problems. So, what has happened to the funds that were supposed to put up post-harvest facilities and other needs to ensure that our fish catch is not wasted?” asked Pamalakaya chairperson Fernando Hicap.
Hicap accused BFAR of failure in constructing enough facilities that have led to wastage of fish harvests nationwide, deploring that such failure gave the government reason to justify importation of thousands of metric tons of fish.
Pamalakaya asked BFAR to furnish it with a report of completed post-harvest facilities, noting that the agency had a budget of P70.7 million for these in the 2018 national expenditure program. It also noted that BFAR has proposed P90.7 million for the same program for 2019.
“Both the BFAR and Department of Agriculture (DA) must prioritize the livelihood of Filipino fisherfolk and develop their production instead of depending on import. This includes providing them adequate fishing equipment such as boats and gears, and building post-harvest facilities to ensure that their catch will be properly preserved and distributed to the local markets for the consumption of the Filipino people,” the group said in the statement.
Pamalakaya also reiterated its “demand for the government not to pursue with its importation plan and junk the Fisheries Administrative Order 195 that the DA has signed.
