Handling and transport of the famous Maguindanao tilapia from the Philippines are expected to improve with the establishment of a new boat landing facility at Lake Buluan that fisherfolk have been dreaming of for so long.
The boat landing facility was inaugurated early this week in Barangay Tumbao, Mangudadatu with Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) chair Secretary Luwalhati Antonino as special guest.
Before the construction of the P1.9-million boat landing, local fishermen did not have proper facilities to place their catch and would simply spread them on the ground before transporting them to the nearby market.
With the boat landing facility, constructed under the United States Agency for International Development-Growth with Equity in Mindanao (USAID-GEM) program, the fishermen can now easily dock their small boats, haul their fish catch along the new concrete steps leading to the boat landing and sort them there properly, according to Antonino.
She noted that the infrastructure was a big help in providing resident fishermen a clean and proper docking facility.
MinDA provides oversight role over the implementation of USAID’s Mindanao Peace and Development Program in Mindanao.
We are delighted that this project can now help you increase production and provide better handling of your fish catch, Antonino told the fisherfolk.
The facility, a project of USAID-GEM and the local government of Mangudadatu, was officially turned over to the municipality as one of the highlights of the recently-concluded Maguindanao Infrastructure Development Forum held at the municipal gym of Buluan.
The steel plaque on post indicating the completion of the boat landing was unveiled in a short ceremony witnessed by the USAID and Philippine government officials, project beneficiaries and local residents of Barangay Tumbao.
Among the officials who led the unveiling include Antonino, Maguindanao Governor Esmael Toto Mangudadatu, Municipal Mayor Freddie Mangudadatu, US Chargé d’ Affaires Leslie Bassett, and USAID-Philippines Deputy Mission Director Reed Aeschlimann.
2012. Manila Bulletin