Motorized boats with complete set of fishing tools are turned over by the Department of Agriculture to the fisher folks in a ceremony held at the Davao Fishport Complex in Barangay Daliao, Toril, Davao City Wednesday, August 17, 2016. (City Information Office)
DAVAO CITY — Some 600 fishermen here received motorized boats and other farm and fishing equipment amounting to over P21 million from the Department of Agriculture Wednesday, August 17.
The turnover ceremony was led by Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol at the Davao City Fishport Complex in Barangay Daliao, Toril here.
Each of the 300 boats will be shared by two families. Piñol said the 300 fishing boats are part of the 200,000 boats that will be distributed in the entire country,
The DA also distributed post-harvest facilities and high-value crop seedlings to 20 farming communities in Davao.
In her message, read by City Agriculture Office chief Leo Bryan Leuterio, Mayor Sara Duterte said the turnover “is timely as Dabawenyos celebrate its 31st Kadayawan sa Dabaw, an annual festival showcasing abundance including bountiful harvest of our seas.”
“These fiberglass boats, fishing gears, post-harvest equipment and fishing stalls will give our fisherfolks and fisherfolks association the opportunity to improve their catch so that they may bring in more harvest to improve their way of life and enhance the agri-fisheries of the city,” Duterte said.
The beneficiaries will also receive P3,000 monthly cash assistance for three months for being “bantay-dagat” (guards of the sea), who are tasked to maintain the cleanliness of the sea and monitor illegal fishing activities. (davaotoday.com)
