Fishery expo dangles P400-M loan

To enhance productivity and income while also lowering poverty incidence in the fishery sector, fishermen and other marine-based workers will be given loans which they can use to purchase equipment and machines needed to increase their catch.

This as the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture holds a fisheries exposition on 17 to 18 December at the World Trade Center.

Dubbed Philippine Fisheries Expo 2018, BFAR expects the event to draw thousands of fishermen from all over the country who will be given the opportunity to pick the machinery and equipment they need to increase their productivity.

Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol said to fully help the fishermen, his department had allotted P400 million loan assistance through the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC).

The money will be used by cooperatives to purchase their desired tools and machineries as well as working capital at a reasonable 2 percent interest per year payable in eight years.

Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol said to fully help the fishermen, his department had allotted P400-million loan assistance through the Agricultural Credit Policy Council.

Among the equipment and machineries to be showcased in the expo are ice-makers, refrigerated vans, fish-fillet, drying facilities and cages.

Piñol said the lack of post-harvest facilities and equipment places fishermen at a disadvantage limiting their chances of bringing to markets their fresh catch on time.

“Once they have identified the equipment they need, the fishermen groups will be asked to fill up loan application forms by the ACPC which will then validate the project and process the documents,” Piñol explained.