P10 billion eyed for fisheries program

The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Wednesday said it is in the final stage of getting the approval to implement the Fisheries and Coastal Resiliency (FishCoRe) Project worth $200 million (P10 billion) funded by the World Bank (WB). In a statement, the DA said the FishCoRe project will benefit about 500,000 fisherfolk and stakeholders in the fisheries and aquaculture sector or the so-called blue economy. The seven-year project, which is the first WB-funded project to be implemented with the DA's Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), primarily aims to support the scaling-up and modernization of the Philippine capture fisheries and aquaculture industry. This will be done through the provision of technical support and innovation, access to modern and resilient fisheries infrastructure and post-harvest facilities, and promotion of efficient connectivity and product value addition, among other initiatives