ANG Catbalogan City sa Samar ang nakikita ng gobyerno bilang modelo ng bansa sa fish drying sa tulong ng newly-established common service facility para sa fishery products.

Ang magkakatuwang na proyekto ng Department of Agriculture (DA), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Department of Science and Technology, Department of Trade and Industry, at Samar provincial government ay inaasahang makatutulong sa 200 processors sa probinsiya.

“DA envisioned to make Catbalogan the model city for fish drying, which is up to international standards in food safety and value-added products accepted for export,” ayon kay BFAR 8 (Eastern Visayas) Director Juan Albaladejo, sa isang panayam nitong Huwebes.

Ang P3.5-milyong pasilidad ay magkakaroon ng malilinis na silid para sa processing, malinis na supply ng fresh at marine water, at drying facilities na malinis sa kontaminasyon mula sa mga langaw, alikabok at mikrobyo.

“Making Catbalogan the hub of dried fish products will help sustain the livelihood of fishermen in the area and hopefully reduce poverty among its ranks,” dagdag ni Albaladejo.

“With the facility provided to help dried fish makers, this will help the city to graduate from being a small-time cottage industry employing traditional techniques on drying fish to a more sophisticated enterprise acceptable to the global market,” pahayag ni Samar Governor Sharee Ann Tan.

Nitong Enero 5, binisita ni Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol ang processing center, kasama si BFAR National Director Eduardo Gongona.

“The equipment will help the organization in augmenting the production, specifically for one-day-old drying of fish or commonly called ‘labtingaw’ or ‘lamayo’, which is a product that it is highly sought by Filipino communities abroad,” ani Albaladejo.

Hiniling din ni Piñol sa BFAR at dried fish producers’ groups na magtulungan sa business plan para makabili ng automatic fish drying equipment upang mapalago ang produksiyon ng dried fish.