TUGUEGARAO CITY—Nothing is impossible to be achieved with perseverance. Such is the motto of 53-year-old Vicente “Dodong” B. Lugagay, who, despite his very humble beginnings, rose to become an epitome of a successful fish farmer in the province of Isabela.
Lugagay was able to amass considerable fortune in a short span of time despite being a relatively new resident of Santiago City.
He applied his know-how on fish culture he learned from his former company for a fledgling tilapia hatchery business and transformed it into a reputable source of quality fish seed material. He did this alongside the application of good business sense and astute financial management.
Lugagay’s JAVE Farm in Barangay Rizal, Santiago City, supplies fingerlings not only in Isabela but also in other provinces, such as Nueva Vizcaya, Cagayan, Pampanga and the Cordillera Administrative Region. He does this through innovative, cost- and time-efficient and environment-friendly technologies.
For being 2018 Gawad Saka Winner on Fish Culture Category, Lugagay bagged a total of P300,000 in prizes in the national and regional levels.
Green water technology
Lugagay significantly cuts on feed costs and ensures viability of his fishponds by using green water technology during breeding stage. The technology entails pond fertilization using chicken manure to produce natural food (planktons and moina).
Compared to commercial feeds, the use of natural food is more appropriate during breeding stage since it prevents breeders from expelling their eggs during mouth brooding. He also uses alternative fish feeds such as duckweeds, azolla and dried soft-shelled shrimp (for high protein diet). Homemade probiotics are also utilized to bring vigor to his breeders and prevent mortality during summer.
A special pump installed in his conditioning tanks, instead of the conventional flow-through and aeration system, allows for sturdier fingerlings thereby higher survival rate. Sex reversal is achieved in only four, instead of the usual 21 days.
Using all these technologies, Lugagay achieves average monthly production of 300,000 to 500,000 fingerlings per month. His fingerlings are climate change adaptable. This is achieved by crossbreeding specific tilapia strains.
Marketing strategy
Lugagay knows when to speed up production to cope up with demand and also seeks new markets, when sales are low.
As a marketing strategy, he gives generous commission to agents who can close a deal. Incentives aside, performance of his fingerlings most often serves as their advertisement, which is why a lot of his buyers are repeat customers.
As a reputable source of fingerlings, Lugagay sees to it that every sale comes with technical advice for the whole duration of the culture period, to ensure success of his buyers.
Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Region 2 Regional Director Dr. Nelson B. Bien was elated with this development and said that the region needs more winners and fish farms operators like Lugagay in order to bring about much-needed increase in fisheries production in Region 2 or Cagayan Valley.