ANTIQUE – The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) will provide P3.69 million worth of equipment to 45 individuals and a fisherfolk group to boost the salt industry in this province.
BFAR-Antique provincial director Richard Cordero on Wednesday said social preparations and capacity building are underway for the recipients of the equipment to make salt such as water pump, drums and polyethylene plastic. These will be released either in February or March this year.
“The identified individual beneficiaries will come from the towns of Belison, Patnongon, Tibiao, and Laua-an while the association is from Bugasong,” Cordero said.
The solar salt project to be run by an association in Bugasong will be their techno-demonstration.
BFAR hopes more people will be encouraged to venture into salt-making.
Patnongon and Belison towns are the only salt-producing towns in Antique.
“Traditional salt-making is so laborious. Salt makers have to go back and forth scooping seawater. But with the solar salt materials the process would already be mechanized,” he said.
A water pump will be provided to collect water from the sea to spare salt makers from coming back and forth to get water. Drums will be used as a container for seawater collected. Polyethylene plastics are to be used instead of bamboo poles to dry the seawater to be exposed to the sun to become salt.
BFAR will also provide four salt storage facilities.
The individual beneficiaries from the four towns will be formed into associations to commonly use the storage facilities, he added.
“The storage facility is clean and could ensure the quality of salt to be sold in the market,” Cordero said. (PNA)/PN
