Honorable Secretary Proceso J. Alcala

Department of Agriculture

 

Honorable Governor Luis Raymond Villafuerte

Province of Camarines Sur

 

Honorable Congressman Luis R. Villafuerte

Third District of Camarines Sur

 

Honorable Mayor Benjamin S. Decena

Bula, Camarines Sur

 

Honorable Assistant Director Benjamin Felipe Tabios

Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources

 

Honorable Director Dennis V.Del Socorro

Region 5

 

Distinguished Guests, our beneficiaries in Camarines Sur,

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

Good morning to you all!

 

It is my pleasure to join you all today in this turn-over and inauguration ceremonies. On behalf of the Government of Japan, I am deeply honored to convey to you our warmest congratulations on this momentous occasion . This is my first time to visit this beautiful province and I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Honorable Governor and the officials from the Department of Agriculture headed by Honorable Secretary Proceso Alcala for inviting us to this ceremony.

 

This Project has been implemented under the “RP-Japan Grant Assistance for Underprivileged Farmers (GAUF) Program” otherwise known as the “KR 2”. For the past three decades, Japan has provided farm inputs worth billions of Pesos for the program which has enhanced agricultural production nationwide. F urthermore, The counter-value fund of this program has been utilized for a wide range of agricultural and fishery development projects such as post harvest facilities, construction and rehabilitation of irrigation facilities, farm to market roads, capacity building programs for farmers, to name but a few. Today's ceremony symbolizes Japan's continuing efforts to provide renewed hopes and greater livelihood opportunities for the local Filipino fish-farmers.

 

The Government of Japan has been extending its assistance to this Regional Freshwater Fisheries Center (RFFC) for almost two decades under the KR 2 Program. Through the years, the Center has been in the forefront of aquaculture production and served as a training hub on dissemination of aquaculture technologies in the Bicol Region. The aquaculture industry however, was not able to fully cope with the demand from the local and international market on freshwater aquaculture fishes. I believe these new facilities will not only address the shortage in the aquaculture industry, but will elevate the functions of the RFFC from a mere production-based aquaculture service center to a one-stop-shop of freshwater fisheries technologies, thus boosting the overall aquaculture system in the region.

 

I am pleased that the upgraded RFFC would provide productive source of livelihood opportunities for the beneficiaries of the aquaculture industry. It is expected that the Center will provide the fish-farmers and commercial producers with viable alternatives in addressing sizeable production surplus and converting these into value-added products for additional income.

 

It is also worthwhile to note that this project is instrumental in improving the technical capability building of RFFC as a core of freshwater fisheries modernization in the Bicol Region, thus uplifting the socio-economic status of the Bicolanos.

 

I am confident that this program will foster renewed self-reliance not only among the immediate target fish-farmers in this municipality, but will also contribute to the food security program of the Philippine Government.

 

Lastly but not in the least, let me express our gratitude to the Department of Agriculture, particularly the National Agricultural and Fishery Council and other agencies concerned for their steadfast efforts to empower the aquaculture industry through this project.

 

In closing, I believe this program will continue to succeed in uplifting the lives of the underprivileged fisher-folks. On the part of Japan, we will continue to extend as much assistance as possible, as the top donor of the Official Development Assistance to the nation building efforts of the Philippines. Let us combine all our efforts to make this program a continuing testimony of the strategic partnership towards the future between our two countries.

 

Mabuhay. (Cheers to us all)