Tilapia Production and Processing – Ramon, Isabela
( Lead Agency—Department of Environment and Natural Resources )

Project description

The project involves the production of tilapia in fish cages and fish ponds and processing of tilapia in 7 barangays in Ramon, Isabela which are located near the Magat Dam namely: General Aguinaldo, Ambatali, Burgos, Planas, San Miguel, Oscariz and Villa Beltran.

Other support services included the organization of Women’s Group, trainings on tilapia processing, capital assistance for livelihood projects, concreting of barangay roads, and environmental protection programs. From among the projects committed by the Agencies, only the proposed installation of additional feed mill facilities was not realized due to lack of private investors.

Project Outputs

Listed below are the various programs/project and activities of concerned agencies.

Table 4. List of Agency Commitments for Ramon, Isabela


Project Outcomes

a.The establishment of a municipal hatchery will ensure a sustainable source of fingerlings for the fishpond and fish cage operators at cheaper prices. Moreover, the fishpond operators were able to start-up their income-generating project through the provision of tilapia fingerlings.
b.As a forward linkage to tilapia production, 26 members of the Women’s organization who were trained and extended financial assistance and portable smoke house, are now earning additional family income through the production of smoked tilapia.
c.The regular monitoring of water quality in the tilapia fishponds and fish cages helped ensure a pollution free production area.
d.In the long term, the planting of 5,000 seedlings in the watershed will help reduce the occurrence of flooding and erosion in the fishpond production areas.
e. The concreting of the barangay roads lessen travel time and facilitate the transport of fish products from the production area to the market.

Problems encountered

The proposed establishment of a feed mill is not yet implemented despite the initial release of P0.5 Million as part of the commitment of the Provincial Government of Isabela because accordingly, this is insufficient to cover the PhP 1.5M cost requirements of the project. This is coupled by the squabbles in the municipal leadership.

Recommendations

a.With the election of a new set of municipal officials, the Provincial Government should initiate the conduct of a consultation meeting among the members of the convergence team to plan how the Flagpole project will be pursued in order to achieve its set goals and objectives.
b.The Municipal Hatchery should be upgraded and maximized for the mass production of fingerlings that will supply the needs of the fish pond and fish cage operators in the area.
c.In as much as the Feasibility Study of the Feed Mill project has not been done, it is suggested that the LGU of Ramon will request the technical assistance of DTI for the purpose.