TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan – Apprehensions over the protection of fishery and other natural resources, relative to the planned dredging of the Buguey Lagoon, can be put to rest after government agencies led by the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute has outlined a number of points to consider in order to forestall any negative effect of such activity . The lagoon, situated at Buguey town some 140 kilometers north of this capital city, is a center of fishery activities particularly seaweeds (Gracilaria) and oyster production, fry and crablets gathering, and fish cage operations. However, the area has been under threat recently due to heavy siltation and constriction resulting to poor water exchange. “The freshwater from the western end and saline water from the sea can not flow freely due to heavy siltation particularly at the portion near the main bridge which affects water quality and fishery operations in the lagoon,” Venchito Villarao, Coastal Resource Management spe...

GONZAGA, CAGAYAN – As stakeholders in most parts of the country grapple with multitude of issues besetting the marine environment, a group of fishermen here had took it upon themselves to tackle problems directly affecting their livelihood. Vivencio Agcaoili, 60, says that Gonzaga, like most coastal towns, used to be very productive, “but over the years we have seen steady decline in fish catch due to indiscriminate and illegal fishing practices.” “The sea had become an almost lifeless place, we can hardly see any fish during our fishing ventures,” Agcaoili, president of the fisherfolk association of Brgy. San Jose, recalls. That is why his group together with another association from Brgy. Casitan readily agreed when officials of the Provincial Agriculture Office approached them as early as 2006 for the establishment of marine protected areas (MPA) adjacent their respective barangays. Starting March last year, both groups were trained on MPA management, including artificial reef const...

ILAGAN, Isabela - All is set for the establishment of a P3.5 billion bio-fuel farm and ethanol plant capable to produce at least 100,000 liters of ethanol in a former logging town here. Mayor Edgar Go, whose San Mariano town will be the site of what could be Luzon’s first bio-fuel farm and ethanol plant, yesterday (25 Oct) said that the project’s major Japanese investor-proponents have already visited the 300-hectare reserved site and given it the green light for the project to proceed. “It’s all systems go for the project. The contractor and Japanese investors has already seen and inspected the site. Besides, nobody has raised a protest against the project since our constituents know this would be an additional livelihood for them,” he said. A former logging area and hotbed of communism, San Mariano, one of the region’s biggest municipalities in terms of area, lies along the foothills of the Sierra Madre. Aside from the ethanol processing plant, the project consists of a 90-hectare nu...

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya – The long-neglected Bagabag airport here is expected to be back in full harness next year following years of intermittent operations due to poor and outdated facilities. This after the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) has poured in additional P70 million for the airport’s continued rehabilitation and buildup designed to accommodate bigger aircrafts once it becomes fully operational next year. Land Transportation, Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) Chairman Thompson Lantion, also DOTC Secretary Leandro Mendoza’s concurrent spokesperson, yesterday said that the additional fund was already being utilized for the lengthening, widening and concreting of the airport’s 1.2-kilometer runway. “The operation of the airport is expected to be back in full swing next year or once the upgrading of its runway to accommodate medium-sized aircrafts and smaller cargo planes is completed next year,” said Lantion, who hails from this landlocked pro...

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya – The Provincial Agriculture Office(PAO) here has urged farmers in the province to maximize their farmlots and turn them into a thriving agri-business to improve their income. Alex Domingo, supervising agriculturist and Nueva Vizcaya Farmers Information and Technology Service(NVFITS) manager said farmers should practice the Community-based Participatory Action Research (CPAR) program which aims to speed-up the utilization of farming technologies, maximizing its potentials and turn them into an economic enterprise. “Usually, farmers do not study the potentials of their farmlots. They do not know that by fully harnessing and maximizing its potentials, they can turn them into a thriving business venture,” Domingo explained. CPAR while it is not a new program, he added aims to satisfy the kitchen and its excess .. to the market. He cited that a corn lot for example should also be a venue for the production of other vegetables, livestock and fish supply. “In t...

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya–A planning executive here said the provincial government is banking on the potentials of the province as a watershed haven for Cagayan Valley to generate more income and eventually cut its dependency on its Internal Revenue Allotment(IRA). “I believe this is the path of governance that governor Luisa Cuaresma is pursuing. She is bent on harnessing Nueva Vizcaya’s natural resources and to pursue our development chalenges without resorting to loans,” said Miguel Jubay, provincial planning and development officer. He said that entre-governance is one of the alternatives being considered by the provincial leadership to struggle over the development barriers of the province such as its 80 to 90 percent IRA dependency and its bio-diversity potentials. For 2009, he said the provincial government has allotted more than P103 million for development projects which represents more than 22 percent of the 2009 IRA projection of more than P465.670 million. “The more than P10...

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya – The National Food Authority here has prepared millions of pesos coming from the national funds to be used for the purchase of farmer’s main palay harvest season amid protests from traders that the food agency’s high buying price is taking away a large chunk of their profits. Acting on instructions from Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Arthur Yap, the provincial office of NFA has also prepared warehouses and mobile buying stations to better facilitate the influx of rice stocks which is expected to come during the peak harvest season between October and December. Yap issued these directives following a DA plan to double the NFA’s procurement volume from 500,000 metric tons in previous years to one million tons come harvest time. According to Antonio Panganiban, NFA Nueva Vizcaya provincial manager, his office has already set up mobile stations scattered in major areas in the province and allotted more warehouse spaces in preparation for the peak season ...