CEBU, Philippines - Total fishery production in Central Visayas has suffered a slump for the past three years, following the dismal state of commercial and municipal fishery sectors.
A report from the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA-7) revealed that although the aquaculture sector, which is the biggest contributor to total fishery production in the region, continued to show a respectable performance, its gains last year was not enough to make up for the losses.
Commercial fishery production has been on declining trend since 2008, the report said.
Although, the aquaculture started strong in 2011, the report indicated that its performance gradually weakened as the months progressed.
From 9.6 percent in the first quarter, the growth of aquaculture production slowed down to 8.0 percent in the second quarter last year, sliding down to 1.3 percent in the third quarter, and went much deeper to negative territory in the fourth quarter of 2011.
Likewise, seaweed production dropped in the last quarter by 1.1 percent. According to the report Seaweed farmers were discouraged to plan seaweeds because of the frequent rain and the scarcity of planting materials.
Production of fish in freshwater cage also took a nosedive by 14.2 percent as a result of the temporary stoppage of fishpond operation in some areas due to the financial constraints and limited supply for fry.
Meanwhile, the livestock and poultry sectors in the region, recorded increases in production mainly because of continued demand for these products in the market.
Increased demand for livestock and poultry products were noted among the local households, food manufacturers, restaurants/resorts and by other regions during the year.
Over-all agricultural output in the region on the other hand, posted a better performance with volume of agricultural production increased by 31.4 percent, mainly due to improved production volume by the crop sector.
Last year, the crop sector pushed up the region’s agricultural sector with an impressive 36.9 percent gain in production, after incurring losses in production for two consecutive years. (FREEMAN)