Grow-out culture of tilapia in freshwater ponds

Abstract

In 2022, DA-NFRDI pioneered the establishment of the AquaBiz School (ABS) and Technology Business Incubation (TBI) through the Department of Agriculture’s Agri-Industrial Business Corridors (ABCs). The program provides a venue for educational and extension services, particularly on business and entrepreneurship setup services. The program highlights aquaculture technologies, transformed into 17 packages of technologies (POTs) for business enterprises, including maliputo, tilapia, milkfish, ornamental fish, mangrove crab, sea cucumber, oyster, and abalone, aimed to generate job opportunities and improve livelihoods especially among fisherfolks. Beneficiaries are capacitated through training and monitoring of key production performance data to monitor program success. The establishment and operation of ABS are continuously promoted with the aim of scaling up the TBI in other areas across the country.

The culture of tilapia in freshwater ponds has long been practiced in inland areas all over the country. In Luzon areas, particularly in Central Luzon, tilapia are farmed in freshwater ponds, lakes, and even in makeshift culture tanks or in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS). This module discusses the resilience of the tilapia commodity as it is cultured in freshwater grow-out ponds. This POT has already been disseminated to incubatees of the ABS & TBI program, in the hopes of providing livelihood-ready technologies to further boost aquaculture production and uplift socio-economic situation of fisherfolk.