DAVAO CITY—Three warehouses and a fish-landing facility are currently being constructed in four barangays in Tawi-Tawi province under an agricultural assistance program funded by the World Bank.
The Philippine Rural Development Program (PRDP) announced that it has granted the funding proposal of seaweed farmers in the barangays of Tandubas town for their storage facilities.
Aside from the warehouses, the PRDP assistance also includes solar dryers “in response to their clamor for better infrastructure support.”
Three warehouses with solar dryers are being constructed in barangays Silantup, Ballak and Tapian.
A fish-landing facility is also being constructed in Barangay Tapian Sokah, the PRDP said.
The three warehouses cost P14.871 million and are expected to benefit 881 households, who are members of various cooperatives. Construction of the warehouses and the fish-landing facility started in July and will finish by March next year.
The warehouses vary in sizes—from the smaller 6 meters by 12 meters to the bigger 12 meters by 16 meters, while the measurement of the attached solar dryers is uniform at 18 meters by 30 meters.
The fish-landing port costs P5.996 million and would serve some 258 fishermen in the area. The PRDP said the facility would cater to fishing vessels and small motor launches of smaller gross tonnage that could transport goods and passengers.
The PRDP said Tandubas town regarded as a major producer of seaweed and the source of other marine products in the province. Aside from fishing, local residents also plant coconut, cassava and fruit trees.
Proponents of the projects expect the facilities to cut postharvest losses to 2 percent, from the current 8 percent, and reduce poverty in the area by increasing the income of farmers.
The multimillion-peso infrastructure project is implemented by the Department of Agriculture and the municipal government of Tandubas.
Danilo T. Alesna, PRDP deputy project director for Mindanao, said the partnership of the municipal and provincial governments would improve seaweed production and improve the quality of life of farmers.
“We must all be in step with the goals and aspirations we have set in order to contribute to local and national development, not only for ourselves but also for generations to come,” said Municipal Mayor Hija Rahiema A. Salih.
With them during the recent groundbreaking for the projects were Tandubas Vice Mayor Fatima Saida Maing and Deputy Project Director Keise T. Usman of the Regional Project Coordination Office of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.