P30-M feed mill opens in Iloilo, to boost milkfish, tilapia production in Western Visayas
By Tara Yap
ILOILO CITY – A medium-scale feed mill has opened in Tigbauan, a coastal town in southern Iloilo province, and will boost milkfish and tilapia production in Western Visayas.
The P30-million aquaculture feed mill facility inside the headquarters of the inter-governmental Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center/Aquaculture Department (SEAFDEC/AQD) is set to lower costs of feeding materials for 160 hectares of fishponds.
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources-6, an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture-6, funded the construction of the feed mill facility and tapped the technical expertise of SEAFDEC/AQD.
“This facility will directly benefit at least 6,240 fisherfolks annually,” said BFAR-6 Director Remia A. Aparri during the inauguration on Monday, April 27.
Aparri said that the feed mill will benefit nearly half of the 13,202 fisherfolk in Western Visayas engaged in freshwater fisheries.
“The feed mill stands as another way to bridge the gap between research and development of practical application and a sign of the department’s unwavering commitment to our stakeholders,” said SEAFDEC/AQD chief Dan Baliao.
BFAR Assistant Director for Administrative Services Zaldy P. Perez said the feed mill is not competing with the commercial feed mill industry but boosting supply chain.