The LLDA in its effort to help the small fishermen in Laguna lake has conceived of the LBFDP. The total investment cost for the LBFDP is about US$23.1 million, of which US$11 million are foreign loans.
Because of the large risk involved in fishpen culture, the LLDA recognized the necessity for the fishermen to become aware and get involved in the project planning process at an early stage. The assistance of FAO/TCP was requested by the Philippine Government to provide experts who could further strengthen the capacity of the executing agency in the effective implementation of the LBFDP.
The FAO/TCP team was composed of an aquaculturist as team leader, and a market analyst and a socio-economist as team members. The reports of the team members are in separate papers.
The aquaculturist made a review on the available technology on the pen and cage culture of the milkfish and tilapia with the assistance of the team members. He also coordinated and supervised the conduct of four separate but complementary field level workshops addressed to specific groups, namely: (a) top management; (b) extension workers; (c) small fishermen; and (d) wrap-up with the first three levels represented. Two workshops for the small fishermen in east and central Laguna de Bay were held.
Results of the information-seeking activities had indicated the existence of indigenous technologies on fishpen and cage culture. The former has matured through years of experience gained without deriving benefit from formal research; whereas, in the case of cage culture system, considerable researches have been done and findings are quite sufficient to warrant its inclusion in the LBFDP.
Background materials on these technologies were prepared and formed part of the topics discussed during the workshops for small fishermen. Fishermen participants also contributed their views about the project, the loan scheme and experiences in fishpen culture, particularly pen design and construction.
Discussion on pen and cage culture systems and their profitability as gleaned from technical papers and personal interviews of pen and cage operators, small fishermen and the BRI consultants of LLDA, were given in this report. The FAO team had also determined the profitability of pure cage culture system of Tilapia nilotica as an alternative choice for fishermen who opted for it during the conduct of the socio-economic study.
The cage culture scheme uses a common barrier of 2.5, 5, 10 and 25-ha sizes as protection to the groups of cages inside it against floating water hyacinths and other flotsams. With this scheme, the estimated net annual income varies from P 9 495 to P 9 800 per cage of a size of 10 × 30 × 3 m. This net profit suggests that four cages would already exceed the income of a family with a 2.5 ha fishpen and 2 cages of same size shared with another family.
The above cage culture arrangement is recommended to inclusion in the bank-financed loan scheme for the LBFDP. Other recommendations concerning aquaculture include establishment of contingency or crises management measures by LLDA as an anticipation to adverse factors affecting production of fish in pens and cages; strengthening the capability of the PMO-LBFDP extension division to make it more responsive and effective in assisting the fishermen clientele; for LLDA to employ the services of a Technical Assistance Group (TAG) to continuously bridge the technological delivery system gap by working directly with fishermen sub-borrowers and a barangay multi-disciplinary team of the LBFDP; and institutionalization of seminar-workshop among field level workers within the PMO-LBFDP organization; and inclusion of a section in the extension division which will take charge of the reproduction of training materials for fishermen's use including an Extension Workers Handbook.
