Misamis Occidental putting up 30-hectare tilapia farm

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines - The Misamis Occidental government has announced that it will soon open a 30-hectare demonstration farm for the commercial production of tilapia in Tangub City. Manolito Yap, officer-in-charge of the Misamis Occidental Aquamarine Park, said the project is in line with the local government’s thrust to make the province a major producer of fresh seafood like mud crabs, milkfish and tilapia. Tilapia has also attracted high demand elsewhere in the country due to minimal required production inputs, and could sell at P100 per kilo. Tilapia fingerlings cost around 50 centavos to P1, data from the regional office of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) showed. Mr. Yap said that as soon as the provincial agriculture office will close a deal with the owners of the land, development of the demonstration farm will start. Misamis Oriental has already opened a mariculture park in the municipality of Balingasag where milkfish, or bangus, is produced on a commercial scale. Last year, BFAR announced plans to build a P10-million tilapia fillet processing plant at the Phividec Industrial Estate. Arlene B. Pantanosas, BFAR regional director, said the plant will have a capacity of 30 metric tons of fresh-chilled tilapia fillet a month. "The Philippines contributes 7% of the world’s tilapia production, yet has not penetrated the global market because it can hardly even meet local demand," she had said. — G. P. Alba, BusinessWorld