Community Fish Landing Centers (CFLC) to boost the fishing sector - Villar

At 39.2 percent, the country's fishermen exhibited the highest poverty incidence in 2012, based on the National Statistics Coordinating Board 2014 update on poverty.

Because of this, Senator Cynthia A. Villar said the Community Fish Landing Centers (CFLC), a program of the Department of Agriculture and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, is a big boost to augment the income of fishermen and eventually, enhance their standard of living.

"It would help fishing communities and families," said Villar, chairperson of the Senate Agriculture and Food Committee.

Villar said the initial 252 sites of the CFLC were chosen based on the Registry System on Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) of the Department of Budget and Management.

RSBSA contains information on farmers, farm laborers and fishermen or the target beneficiaries of agriculture-related programs and services.

When completed, CFLC will improve the access of buyers or consumers to safe and quality fish and fishery products. It will literally be a one-stop fish trade hub within a community.

Over time, she noted that local government units will turn over the CFLC to fisherfolk communities or cooperatives.

"As long as you can properly operate and manage CFLC, I am confident that the benefits that you will derive from it will be significant.

While the poverty incidence among fishing communities is high, the senator also noted that the rate of decrease (of 2.1%) in poverty in the sector from year 2009 to 2012 is also the highest among the nine disadvantaged sectors.

"So there is a change. We are making improvements. And with the continuous implementation of this program, we are assured there will be changes in the quality of life of our fishermen," stressed Villar.

She acknowledged the significant role of the fishery industry in the country's food sufficiency goal.

"The fisheries sector, particularly the municipal fisheries, produces a significant amount of food for all of us about one-third of total fish production in terms of volume and value, respectively, at any given year," she further stated.