malaysiangThe Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR), through the Development of Salt Industry Project (DSIP), has been helping boost salt output in Antique as its 15 coastal municipalities have been identified as ideal sites for salt production. BFAR 6 (Western Visayas) Fisheries Post Harvest and Marketing Section officer-in-charge Sheryll Aguirre said they had assisted salt producers with their production input since 2022. ‘Since 2022 to now, there are already 105 salt producers assisted by the BFAR,’ she said in an interview on Wednesday. The BFAR started by providing 45 salt producers from the municipalities of Tibiao, Laua-an, Bugasong, Patnongon and Belison with production input such as polyethylene plastic, water pump, suction hose, and pail, among others. ‘With the distribution of the inputs in 2022, the salt producers in the five towns were able to produce 34 metric tons of salt,’ she said. This year, BFAR delivered inputs to local government units (LGUs) of Pandan, Sebaste, Barbaza, Laua-an, Patnongon and Tobias Fornier, with beneficiaries comprising 20 individuals and four associations engaged in salt production. Aside from these coastal towns, other areas identified as ideal for salt production are Anini-y, Caluya, Culasi, Hamtic, Libertad and San Jose de Buenavista. Meanwhile, the Philippine Council of Agriculture and Fisheries (PCAF), an attached agency of the DA, is holding its National Salt Industry Stakeholders’ Consultation on Oct. 17 to 19 at the Eagles Hotel in San Jose de Buenavista in Antique’s capital town. ‘We would like to encourage the private sector to go into the salt industry production in the province,’ PCAF Policy Development Section chief Ahbel Milanes said in an interview on Wednesday. Milanes said they are hopeful Antique could help supply salt with more people engaging in the production. ‘In 1980, the Philippines was self-sufficient in salt, but by the year 2000, our production decreased due to climate change and globalization,’ she said. Milanes said that right now, Australia and China are supplying the salt requirement of the country.
Source: Philippines News Agency
