CLARK FREEPORT – Gov. Lilia Pineda has vowed to assist 4,000 fisherfolk in Pampanga in a bid to improve the export of fish products to other countries.
Pineda said she will establish a cold storage and processing facility in Barangay Sindalan, City of San Fernando as requested by attendees of the First Congress of the Integrated Service for the Development of Aquaculture (ISDA) here on Wednesday.
Lito Lacap, president of some 400 fish producers, said Pampanga could contribute more to the export of tilapia, prawns and bangus “if properly assisted by the concerned agencies.”
He said the facility promised by Pineda will allow the steady supply of the products available for local and foreign demands.
“More importantly, it will stabilize the prices of the fish products beneficial to producers and customers,” Lacap added.
For her part, the governor said the provincial government allotted some P100 million for agriculture and fishery in 2012. She earlier launched the Pampanga Agriculture Modernization Program 2016 dubbed as “Bringing Agriculture to Better Yield” project.
The program was crafted by her consultant-adviser Roy Imperial, former executive director of the North Luzon Agri-business Quadrangle and director of High Value Commercial Crops of the Department of Agriculture (DA).
Pineda vowed to focus on agriculture and fish productions in 2012.
Fourth District Board Member Ric Yabut, chairman of the committee on agriculture, said he will asked governors and mayors in Bataan and Bulacan to allow their fishermen to get fish in water territories outside of Pampanga.
He said Pampanga fishermen had been prevented from fishing in water territories of Bataan and Zambales,
“Of course, Gov. Pineda will lead the way,” he added.
Yabut said the Pampanga River is “too narrow forcing our fishermen to search for their catch in other areas.”
Pineda was alarmed by the Philippines’ ranking in Asia in fishery product exports.
Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Remedios Ongtangco noted the increase of fishery product exports from China, Norway, Thailand, Vietnam, India, and Malaysia.
Ontangco reported that while Asia now supplies 91 percent of the world’s demand for fishery products, the Philippines is outranked by three Asian neighbors in the value of their exports. They are Thailand, Indonesia and India.
