MANILA -- Fishermen from about 100 fishing grounds all over the country will enjoy a two-day "shopping spree" on Dec. 18 to 19 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City for machinery and equipment they need to increase their productivity and income, and lower poverty in the fishing sector.
Backed up by a PHP400-million loan facility offered by the Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Credit Policy Council (DA-ACPC), the fishermen's groups could borrow the exact amount that they need to acquire the equipment and machinery, including a working capital.
DA Secretary Manny Piñol said the first ever Philippine Fisheries Expo 2018 staged by the DA's Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) is expected to draw thousands of fishermen from all over the country who will be given the opportunity to pick the machinery and equipment that they need.
Equipment and machinery, like ice-makers, refrigerated vans, fish fillet and fish drying facilities and fish cages, will be on display during the Fish Expo to allow fishermen's groups to point out to the DA-BFAR what they need most to catch more fish and reduce post-harvest losses, he said.
The hottest items are expected to be ice-making machinery and cold storage, including refrigerated vans needed to transport their catch to the market.
When they have identified the equipment that they need, Piñol said, the fishermen's groups will be asked to fill-up loan application forms by the ACPC which will then validate the project and process the documents.
As soon as the loan applications are validated, the DA-ACPC will identify a conduit bank near the fishing communities where the money that they need will be released.
The fishermen's groups will then use the money to pay for the machinery and equipment that they have chosen during the Philippine Fisheries Expo, a system which allows them to pick the equipment brand of their choice and eliminates the long and tedious process of government procurement.
The loans will also include a working capital and is payable in eight years with a grace period to be determined by the DA-ACPC at an interest of two percent per annum.
Piñol further said the Agriculture and Fisheries Machinery and Equipment Loaning Program (AFME) was designed following his travels to the countryside under the "Biyaheng Bukid" activity, where access to credit and lack of post-harvest facilities were identified as the main issues hampering greater productivity.
In the fisheries sector, he cited as an example the absence of ice-making facilities which results in a 40-percent loss of fishermen's daily catch.
The DA chief said the lack of post-harvest facilities and equipment, which will give them access to the market, also serves as a serious limiting factor in the increase of fish catch, as the fishermen will naturally limit the volume of their catch knowing they could not sell it.
All of the machinery and equipment chosen by the fishermen's groups, especially the ice-making facilities, are expected to be established in the fishing communities before the end of February 2019, in time for the lifting of the closed fishing season, he added. (PNA)
