Representatives from the Department of Agriculture – Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP) Project Support Office (PSO) South Luzon Cluster and the Regional Project Coordination Office (RPCO) MIMAROPA conducted an orientation for the Calamianes Seaweeds Marketing Cooperative (CSMC) in Coron, Palawan, from March 1-2, 2022.

Headed by I-REAP Component Head Dr. Celso Olido, the DA-PRDP team also provided consultation and technical assistance for the Proponent Group (PG) to help them prepare for their “Seaweed Production and Post-harvest Facility” subproject proposal amounting to PhP15 million.

During the opening program, Municipal Agriculturist Geronimo Gevela expressed his gratitude for the chance to help the seaweeds farmers in the different barangays in Coron. 

“Maraming salamat po sa Department of Agriculture kasi natuloy po ang programa ng PRDP dito… Full support po [kami] dito sa program dahil po tinutukoy rin namin dito ang mga seaweeds growers mula sa ibang barangay. Kasi syempre hindi naman kaya ng CSMC na mag-produce ng [sapat na] seaweeds sa kanilang area, but through this program or project, pwede natin tulungan ang iba pa nating mga seaweeds growers sa iba’t-ibang barangay para matugunan ang pangangailangan ng ating cooperative,” shared MAO Gevela.

Following the orientation, DA-PRDP’s technical team conducted a site inspection in Sitio Balisungan, Barangay Tagumpay for the infrastructure component of the subproject. As part of the proposed package, this subproject shall include a warehouse and landing facility amounting to PhP6 million. 

Once approved, the subproject will be the third DA-PRDP seaweeds enterprise in the Province of Palawan. Previous seaweeds subprojects are the Seaweeds Nursery, Production and Marketing Project for the Johnson Island Fisherfolk Association in Roxas, and the Seaweeds Production and Marketing for the Pandan Marine Products Marketing Cooperative (PMPMC) in Puerto Princesa.

The orientation was also attended by representatives from the Local Government Unit and the Municipal Agriculture Office, select officers from the Department of Trade and Industry and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, key barangay officials, and farmer members of the CSMC. (Danica A. Brutas, DA-PRDP MIMAROPA RPCO InfoACE Unit)