Tilapia industry will soon get a boost from the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP).

Recently, the I-PLAN Component of PRDP in Region 12 spearheaded the workshop on the formulation of Tilapia Value Chain Analysis (VCA).

Technical experts from local government units, concerned government agencies like the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Department of Agriculture 12.

“This is the first step in the preparation of this document,” Nelly Ylanan, the I-PLAN Component Head in Region 12 said.

“Through this workshop, we can create an action plan for the preparation of Fresh tilapia VCA,” Ylanan noted.

The Regional Project Coordination Office (RPCO) 12 of PRDP, through the I-PLAN Component, already crafted two VCAs, the Mango and Tuna VCAs.

Participants prepare for the workshop

The meeting aims to create a pool of experts on VCA preparation at the level of the regional office and the local government unit.

Ylanan said that the experience they will be getting from activities such this will be crucial in the formulation of future VCAs which will benefit other agro-industry stakeholders.

After this workshop, a series of desk reviews and data gathering activities will be conducted before the consolidation of information crucial to the finalization of the document aimed in advancing the tilapia industry.

Meanwhile, the I-PLAN Component acknowledged the effort of the technical experts who helped craft the VCAs for tuna and mango.

DA 12 Regional Technical Director Levi Fortuna distributed the certificates of recognition to the pool of experts as a way of thanking for going extra mile in their service.

Paul Apad, one of the specialists in Region 12 tapped by the I-PLAN component, expressed his gratitude to PRDP for letting him experience the VCA preparation.

“It was truly a remarkable experience… it was not easy but I learned a lot,” he said.

Apad added that his involvement in the preparation of the VCA for tilapia industry will allow him to grow professionally.

VCA is one of DA-PRDP’s planning tools used in outlining enterprise and infrastructure development subprojects. It is a study of the value added to provincial priority agri-commodities at all stages from input supply, agricultural production, assembly, processing, and marketing. (CULAguillon)