North Cotabato Governor Emmylou “Lala” J. Taliño-Mendoza together with Board Members and Office Heads of the Provincial Government of Cotabato conducted a visit at Sitio Lumuak in Barangay Katilacan, Pikit to witness the harvest of 5,997 kilos of Tilapia on early morning of January 17, 2013.
The visitation is attended by Board Members Dulia Sultan, Eliseo Garcesa, Pikit Vice Mayor Don T. Mangansakan, and other local officials of Pikit and Katilacan.
It can be recalled that in August 2012, the United Nations World Food Program (UNWFP) funded the construction of 2-hectare fish pen and road dike through “Food for Work”, a program that offers food as payment when people go to work to start building a hunger-free future community. Residents were provided with materials to finish the project within 1 to 2 months.
On the other hand, personnel from the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) conducted technology demonstrations and preparation of project proposal. OPA also gave 25,000 fingerlings and floating cages in addition to the one’s provided by MTB. According to Ibrahim Balawag, focal person on OPA fish section, “this is not the only barangay the provincial government has helped in terms of aqua projects. There are more barangays being monitored this month in preparation for harvest.”
Governor Taliño-Mendoza expressed her gratitude to the fishfolks for they have proved their capacity to handle government initiatives like this, a project that will surely provide them benefits for their livelihood.
Katilacan Barangay Chairman Adam Malim on the other hand was also happy that the governor came to witness the bountiful harvest of the said project.
Mindanao Tulong Bakwit (MTB), a non-government organization aimed to alleviate human suffering of internally displaced persons became the implementing agency of the said project. The agency provided P400,000.00 to materialize the fish pen, nets, tilapia fingerlings, feeds, training facilities, seminar honorariums, and labor. Out of 40,000 stack density, 15,000 came from MTB.
It took 4 months to take care and feed the fingerlings before fish folks harvested it.
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