Occidental Mindoro – The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in the Mimaropa Region (BFAR-Mimaropa) is focusing on enhancing the skills and knowledge of small-scale salt processors in the province.
According to a news release by the Philippines News Agency, the office has set the ambitious goal of positioning Occidental Mindoro as the "Salt Capital of the Philippines." The agency seeks to modernize the methods used by salt farmers for gathering and processing salt from the sea, which would substantially boost their production capacities.
Jason Advincula, a post-harvest technical staff member at BFAR-Mimaropa, revealed that the agency recently concluded a six-day training program for around 180 salt farmers in the towns of San Jose and Magsaysay. The training, known as the "Capability Training on Salt Industry Project Development," was administered by the Fisheries Production and Support Services Division (FPSSD)-Fisheries Post Harvest and Marketing Services Section (FPHMS) of the bureau. During the seminar, representatives from large cooperatives of salt farmers shared marketing insights with the small-scale producers. The training covered multiple subjects, such as solar salt production and salt production management.
The overarching goal of BFAR-Mimaropa is for salt farmers in the towns of San Jose and Magsaysay to disseminate the knowledge they have acquired to other salt farmers in the region. This, in turn, is expected to contribute to the growth of the local salt-processing industry. Advincula noted that increased local salt production would enable the Philippines to reduce its reliance on salt imports, thus having a favorable economic and self-sufficiency impact.
The Department of Science and Technology states that Occidental Mindoro is one of the largest salt-producing provinces in the Philippines. In the 1990s, the province contributed approximately 18 percent of the country's annual salt requirement. Currently, the province supplies almost 75,000 metric tons, or about 12 percent of the national salt requirement of 590,000 metric tons, primarily to areas in Southern Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.