Logo of the the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has earmarked P1.06 billion to advance the seaweed industry’s development next year.
The Department of Agriculture aims to expand the aquaculture sector through the Enhanced Philippine Seaweed Development Program, noting that seaweed is one of the country’s major agricultural exports.
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The BFAR sees a significant growth potential for seaweed farming, identifying additional 64,000 hectares of potential area for expansion that could increase annual output by approximately 50 percent.
“This represents a low-hanging fruit that could create thousands of jobs and substantially boost the country’s foreign exchange earnings,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said in a statement on Monday.
BFAR officer-in-charge Isidro Velayo Jr. said half of the budget would be used to distribute seaweed farm implements, build 109 new nurseries and maintain 24 existing seaweed culture areas.
Also in the pipeline is the construction of eight warehouses, 34 mechanical dryers and 80 seaweed food carts nationwide.
The BFAR set aside another P10 million to procure two bioreactors used in aquaculture to treat wastewater and maintain water quality. These are expected to produce 4,100 metric tons of propagules, or seaweed planting materials, by next year.
Velayo said these propagules would be sufficient to cultivate seaweed across 410 hectares and yield an estimated 102.5 million kilograms of fresh seaweed, valued at approximately P850 million at P58 per kg (dw).
Seaweed production totaled 1.6 million MT last year, an increase of 5.3 percent from 1.54 million MT in 2022, data from the
Philippine Statistics Authority showed. It has been on an uptrend between 2021 and 2023.
Some 228,570 MT of seaweed products were produced during the period, valued at P12.7 billion.
In the third quarter of 2024, seaweed output reached 363,258.92 MT, down by 1.5 percent from 368,797.89 MT in the same period a year ago.
The BFAR said Tawi-tawi province has 20,000 hectares of potential seaweed farming areas on top of the existing 62,000 hectares.
Southwestern Luzon and the Zamboanga Peninsula also have potential farming areas of 12,736 hectares and 16,845 hectares, respectively.