DA close to bagging $200-M loan for FishCoRe

The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Wednesday said it is close to securing a $200-million (P10 billion) loan from the World Bank to bankroll a 7-year project that seeks to improve the country’s fisheries production. The DA said it is in the final stages of talks with the World Bank for the Fisheries and Coastal Resiliency (FishCoRe), a project that would benefit at least 500,000 fishermen and stakeholders nationwide. The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), an attached agency of the DA, will be the main implementing agency for the FishCoRe Project, which is expected to commence early next year. The DA said the project seeks to support the scaling-up and modernization of the country’s capture fisheries and aquaculture industry.