GUAGUA, Pampanga—Stakeholders in the tilapia industry recently met at the Plates and Platter restaurant in this town to establish the Best Farming Practices (BFP) Club to promote the growth and profitability of the industry.

The BFP concept encompasses environment-friendly and energy-saving practices that include the correct usage of proper chemicals and probiotic/vaccines, the right application of feeds, proper water management, and disease prevention and management.

Such practices may help keep production within the ecological limits with the bottom line of getting better profits and sustainability of the industry.

The meeting was attended by fishpond operators, officials from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Region III, Central Luzon State University, Santeh Feeds Corp. and Genomar Supreme Tilapia Philippines.

Remedios Ongtangco, regional director of BFAR in Central Luzon, explained that “the tilapia culture has a bright future. The technology, growth process, challenges and potential rewards are motivating many farmers to shift to tilapia culture.”

However, Ongtangco cautions that the “culture of tilapia is a demanding and relatively risky business,” adding that “before any prospective tilapia farmer takes steps in venturing in this business, there is a need to thoroughly asses all available strategies for managing the risks involved in culturing tilapia.”

Through the Best Farming Practices Club, Ongtangco said the industry players may now conduct forums to discuss the issues facing the industry.

She added that the industry has too much to offer and with various opportunities that include the continuous increase in the demand for tilapia in the domestic and international market.

But sad to say, it was also established that low survival rate and slow growth of tilapia are the perennial problems affecting the industry, which eventually affect the profitability and ultimately the supply and price of the fish commodity.

But these can easily be corrected, as Ongtangco noted that there is an abundance of technological innovations for the production of tilapia and introductions of better tilapia strains that may greatly contribute to the increase of its production.

Alejandro Alvarez of Genomar, on the other hand, explained that the tilapia industry in the country has an annual production of 175,000 tons and an average annual growth of 6 percent with a noted increase on production expenses but not productivity.

“A lot has been done in genetics to increase the potential performance of tilapia, but little has been changed regarding management,” Alvarez noted.

Through the BFP Club, Alvarez said stakeholders may now have to effectively test the results in using the right and proper amount of aqua feeds, impact of different schedules and natural productivity analysis, energy-saving devices, probiotics/vaccines, pond layouts, discharge water treatment and other innovative approaches.

Philip Ong of Santeh Feeds Corp. said that through these efforts the industry may eventually overcome the perennial problems affecting the industry like fish kills, emergence of fish diseases that affect production, and increasing capital input.

The club, Ong said, is clearly one vehicle that may bring the best farming practices in aquaculture to fishpond operators that may result to good management for better profit.

Stakeholders in tilapia industry set up Best Farming Practices Club

GUAGUA, Pampanga—Stakeholders in the tilapia industry recently met at the Plates and Platter restaurant in this town to establish the Best Farming Practices (BFP) Club to promote the growth and profitability of the industry.

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