Finally, DA launches ‘Development of Salt Industry Project’
TO AVERT SALT SHORTAGE
THE Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) recently launched the Development of Salt Industry Project (DSIP) in Dasol town last March 10 aligned with ‘Oplan Asin’ to address the challenges and gaps in the country’s salt industry and production.
‘DSIP seeks to boost local salt production, especially in Pangasinan, by providing various production-related and research and development activities.
Oplan Asin’s “Pasiglahin, Sariling Ating Asin!”, was initially implemented in 2022, in collaboration with the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI), to increase local production of excellent quality salt in the country through the enhancement of processes and improvement of practices on salt production, while balancing the requirement for food safety standards and industrial uses.
DA-BFAR Director Atty. Demosthenes Escoto said, interventions for marketing for existing salt producers will be prioritized and inactive producers will be revived “to ensure sustainable salt production and livelihood of salt farmers, and ultimately, attain national salt self-sufficiency”.
However, both DA-BFAR and the province’s agri department have no record of actual number of active and inactive salt producers in Pangasinan except the data that producers are mostly in towns of Dasol, Bani, Bolinao and Anda.
In Dasol, there are 8 barangays with 10,000 salt beds, but no record of umber of producers.
‘Oplan Asin’ has P100-million initial funding in the first year of implementation for various production-related and research and development activities. These were successfully implemented in select major salt-producing regions through the BFAR Regional Fisheries Offices (RFOs) 1, 6, and 9.
To date, the Bureau already provided fishery on-farm equipment and post-harvest facilities, upgraded storage units and warehouse facilities, training and capacity building workshops, and technology demonstrations among the participating regions.
These interventions will continue in 2023 with an expanded scope through the allotment and downloading of another P100-million to seven DA-BFAR regional offices that now include BFAR RFOs 3, 4A, 4B and 7. (Eva Visperas)
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