Responsible Business Forum on Food and Agriculture is now being held at Dusit Thani , Manila Philippines under the theme " driving growth, improving lives" ,co organize by global initiatives in partnership with WWF World wide Funds- Philippines with corporate collaboration of Monsanto, sygenta, Bloomberg, IRRI International Rice Research Institute, asian ngo , Eco - Business, Business World "increase your business intelligence", Assist  ( Asia Society for Social Improvement and Sustainable Transformation ), Global Agenda for Sustainable Livestock, PBE Philippine Business for the Environment , MSC  The Marine Stewardship Council , RSPO Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, and BONSUCRO.


AQUACULTURE & FISHERIES


CHAIR: Geoffrey Muldoon, Strategy Leader , Business and Industry , WWF Coral Triangle Program
                Kelvin Ng, Regional Director Asia Pacific , Marine Stewardship Council
                 Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr, Chief Executive Officer, Frabelle Group
                Ramon Macaraig, Vice President for Technical Services , Alcantara Group
                Jason Clay, Senior Vice President , Markets & Food , WWF US
                Philip Ong, President , Santah Feeds Corporation




Atty. Jellie Molino legal consultant for Taal Lake Aquaculture Alliance , summarizes  the aquaculture & fisheries technical group discussion held at the Japanese Restaurant of Dusit Thani Hotel . The proceedings as recorded, as to the Philippines should adopt the Marine Stewardship Council Asia Ltd, a certifying body for the for the blue logo quality standards of Aquaculture best practices procedures, end products, logistics and farm to market (plate ) procedures, farm sustainable management processes, had been accepted with a new dynamism. With a few apprehension as to its implication of  cost per harvest , averaging about 20, 000 US dollar  and 100,000 US dollar seems to much for the small scale farm operators.

Atty. Jellie Molino , expounded the idea of putting sustainable mechanism for the Taal environment, to lessen the impact of over fishing . Through the 'membership organization of the Taal Lake Aquaculture Alliance, adopting the code of conduct of the Global Aquaculture Alliance , they have been force to adopt a moratorium to lessen the fish cage operator with in the Taal Lake vicinity. From the current 14,000 cage operators , the moratorium manage to reduce the number of cage operator to 6,000 . To date to ensure the steady income mainstream of each member and the rest small operators who are not yet members , " we are in the processes of reinventing the wheel , we are venturing into aquaculture tourism , where in we are pleased to offers the pleasure of fish catching to the local and international tourist who have been enamored with the scenic beauty of the Taal lake", explained by  Atty. Jellie Molino.  By this simple initiative ' we are helping the sustainable quality of the water of the lake, the livelihood of everyone of us , large, medium and small scale fish cage operator", further explain by Atty. Jellie Molino.

Mr. Felix G. Ayson, SEAFIDEC   is in the formulation of fish meal using feeder base of soy bean who had been successfully tested in the north "dagupan " , a milkfish was able to gain weight for 8 kilograms with in three months . With the processes and new feeds based the harvesting season can be replicated with in three times in a year instead of single harvest eight months.


Mr. Ramon M. Macaraig , the new trends today is "Bio fluke ", where in the 100 percent feeds that inputed in the ponds 80 percent becomes a waste. To further improve the water quality of the ponds aside with "airator" applied , this "we can used the solid remnants of the feed , into a feeder for the sea urchin, or shrimps. Or by letting the green algae develops to its fullest by keeping the water a fertile ground for green algae to grow faster, necessary for the algae eating organism with the ponds like milk fish , oysters and prawns. This is poly cultures methods for which is the new normal in Thailand today. Thailand aquaculturist have been able to discover a top up level approach where in poly cultures of osyters,shrimps, milk fish can thrive using the re cycling methods of water , where temperatures , water salinity , clarity is measured through a computer wired based programmed. Mr. Ramon M. Macaraig is a VP for technical Services for Alsons Aquaculture Corp.

Alex Lin, Asia Pacific Regional Corporate Engagement Manager for Marine Stewardship Council Asia Ltd., emphasized emphasize the logic of the " blue logo " certification . The idea is for the products from Asia to have a degree of benchmarks of standards with the global dimension generally accepted under the European regulators and markets landscapes and so with the USA.

Ploughshares , Inc., Jake Piscano , specifically suggested to equate the standards benchmarking cost on a per kilo harvest , but firmly believed the idea  and intention is good, but the questions is can the small scale farming could afford it, his personal apprehension. He cited for the role of some government agencies to adopt the said benchmarking like the Department of Fisheries .


Henry Estipona of Barcelona Mangrove Research Farm and Resort, that the systems could be adopted by the Department of Bureau of Food and Drugs , as the state sole body of regulators regarding the human fit consumption , nutrients quality, patents, expirary dates, product traceability. The said regulators could adopt the certifying processes in a gradual manner of lets five years in a row , providing leeway for the small scale aquaculturist to adopt the standards and cost associated with it.


Stanton Emms, strategy consultants , managing partner " developing business and marketing strategies for Asia", said world sustainable fish farming is gaining its momentum. Fish productions harvest is increasing and so with the fish meal soy bean based products . " the most spread out aquaculture", like milkfish, "tilapia", and the new development of specific marine specie."

In the Philippines the geographic distribution in certain regions from Luzon, Vizayas to Mindanao and even tips of the Cagayan Valley. The major consideration in the aquaculture today is the fish harvest in equation to capital inputs, nutrition, limitation of protein.  " Therefore fish meal requirements from the soy bean based products as key ingredients , as key anchor references for aqua feed in the new norm for todays fish farming.

It has been two dacades past since 1980's poultry livestocks as the major source of protein , due to price level and more sustainable farming there is reverent due course in the aquaculture cages fish farming.
2/3 aquacultures , feeds "soy bean based products ", is a world wide phenomenon . The feeds main component which is main protein itself is a soybean. There has been a phenomenal acceptance with this idea all over the world." How can we come up with a protein substitute and protein inclusion? Five percent of the total world aquaculturist uses fish meal with a protein based soy bean. In case of the Philippines the idea of self sufficiency ,culturing the low tropic fishies , around that idea " soybean protein based feeds is the answer".

Farmers income , from Soy Bean Meal are now in  Chicago Mercantile Trade , participated in by 99.5 percent deal by market speculators. With this scenario, fishermen by defacto "the non food actors-performers ", become wealthy due to speculative financial spectrum . There have been some large efforts to further cascade the income gap between real farmers and the farmer by defacto .

But when it will be , the actualization of it ? when the real income of the real farming actors gain its full potential ? by using Soy bean feeds meal .


Henry Estipona
Philippines