Agriculture Secretary William Dar last Friday announced Bataan province shall become a pilot area for shrimp production.

Dar made the announcement during the signing of a memorandum of agreement between the LandBank of the Philippines and the Thai firm Charoen Pokphand Foods Philippines Corporation (CPFP) in Samal.
The agriculture top honcho cited CPFP as it helped produce an additional 350,000 fatteners in 2021 from its network of contract growers, and 600,000 more this year.

“We would like to witness more partnerships – similar to that of CPFP and LandBank—among agri-business firms, government, and commercial lending institutions to help massively increase food production, at the same time provide farmers, fisherfolks and their families more incomes and ensure food security,” Dar said.

He instructed respective DA in Central Luzon and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) regional directors Crispulo Bautista and Wilfredo Cruz (CL) to work with CPFP to establish model clustered swine and aqua-culture farms that benefit more small farmers, fisherfolks, and their families.

“Let’s continue to have this inclusivity principle so that more farmers and fisherfolks will gain more income and become prosperous,” Dar said. By 2023, the DA targets to produce 440,563 breeders and 10.5 million fishermen and hog raisers under the hog repopulation program in partnership with commercial and clustered backyard hog raisers, LGUs, and state universities and colleges (SUCs).

To bankroll the hog repopulation program, the DA through its Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC), has allotted P800 million for lending to backyard and semi-commercial raisers in ASF green zones.
The LBP and the Development Bank of the Philippines have allotted P30 billion and P12 billion, respectively, for lending to commercial raisers in ASF-free areas.

The post Bataan, pilot area for shrimp production appeared first on 1Bataan.