Day 1| Anunang-Gamut Fishermen’s Association or AGFA reaches another milestone when they joined the “Hands-on Training on Fish Processing and Value Added Products” conducted by the Department of Agriculture Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP). This three-day activity was in partnership with the Local Government of Barobo through its Municipal Agriculture Office, and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and aimed to provide training to members and residents of the community of Sitio Anunang Barangay Gamut as part of their livelihood project in support to their existing Bangus Production and Marketing enterprise subproject under DA-PRDP’s Enterprise Component.

Sharing their expertise as resource speakers for the said activity were BFAR’s Agricultural Technologist Maricel J. Maturan and Community Development Officer I Paterno B. Silla, Jr.

A discussion on fish handling and shelf life as well as the important steps in deboning Bangus was held in the morning which was followed by hands-on deboning activity with the participants who also actively showed enthusiasm in learning new skills.

This livelihood training also helped to empower the women in the community by providing them with additional means of earning additional income for their families.

According to Maricel Maturan, this activity was conducted in order to teach the members of AGFA value adding activities which was in line with their existing commodities so that aside from selling their fresh harvest, they would also learn how to sell deboned bangus which has a higher market price.

One of the highlights of the day was the turned over of materials and equipment for bangus processing amounting to around P 60,000 by the LGU Barobo.

For the second day of the activity, the participants will be hearing a lecture and engage in a hands-on training on making bangus sardines in a jar. (Joy M. Montecalvo, PSO Mindanao| Photos by Zenny Awing & Fred Abrea, RPCO 13)