More than 200 attendees are expected to attend the 2nd Palawan Seaweed Industry Summit, one of the biggest gathering of the seaweed industry sector on May 9-10, 2019 at City State Asturias Hotel.
The activity is initiated by the City Government of Puerto Princesa, Puerto Princesa and Palawan Seaweed Network with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through Strengthening Urban Resilience for Growth and Equity (SURGE) project.
Melissa Macasaet, City Agriculturist said that the event will gather together the seaweed growers, seaweed traders and major buyers, national government agencies, financial institutions and academe, and other stakeholders.
We are expecting 200 participants katulad nung last year. Maraming mga resource persons and government agencies ang dadalo sa event na ito kaya sana ma-maximized natin ang presence nila,” she said.
Macasaet said that since the formation of Seaweed Network in May 2007, the city’s seaweed industry significantly benefited by the City Government’s and USAID-SURGE’s capacity building initiatives.
USAID Mission Director Lawrence Hardy, Undersecretary for Fisheries and National Director of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Commodore Eduardo B. Gongona are among those expected to attend the event.
Officials from national agencies, academe and seaweed organizations are also expected to attend the event including Department of Science and Technology (DOST)- PCAARR, Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) of the Department of Agriculture (DA), South East Asia Fishery Development Center (SEAFDEC), Land Bank of the Philippines, Seaweed Industry Association of the Philippines (SIAP), Central Philippine University.
The two-day event is divided into four plenaries. Plenary 1 has three resource speakers in Seaweed Industry Trends and Market Opportunities, Plenary 2: Seaweed Market Linkages and Quality Standards has four resource speakers, Plenary 3: Business and Financing Opportunities for Seaweed Growers with four resource speakers, and Plenary 4: Research and Development and Emerging Technologies for Seaweed Farming with two resource speakers.