Factors Affecting the Biosecurity Practices Against the Tilapia Lake Virus Among the Tilapia Hatchery Farmers of Sto. Domingo, Bay, Laguna

Date

6-2023

Degree

Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness Management

College

College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Melodee Marciana E. De Castro

Committee Member

Maria Noriza Q. Herrera, Ma. Teresa A. Acda, Mar B. Cruz

Abstract

Among the most farmed fishes in the Philippines, tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) ranks second and thus is a highly prioritized fish in aquaculture production. It was even recognized as one of the top aquaculture commodities that can greatly contribute to the aquaculture sector in the Philippines, given the high demand and many farmers that venture into tilapia farming (BFAR, 2022). More specifically, tilapia fingerlings are now in demand for farmers, and thus this reflects the importance of the sector in the livelihoods and food security of Filipinos. However, the occurrences of diseases and their spread, like the Tilapia Lake Virus (TiLV), has been considered as one of the hindrances in aquaculture production.

One of the driving factors of the emergence of aquatic diseases is the poor implementation of biosecurity measures. (FAO, 2021). Other factors include unfamiliarity with known and emergent aquatic diseases, poor management practices, and insufficient financial resources. Given that TiLV affects even the early stages of tilapia (O. niloticus), such as the fingerlings, utilizing vaccines may not be effective. Thus, the implementation of biosecurity measures is the only solution to prevent and control the introduction of viral diseases, such as TiLV (Dong et al., 2017). Recently, the tilapia hatcheries in one of the barangays in Bay, Laguna, which is Brgy. Sto. Domingo experienced a TiLV outbreak which caused a decline in overall production and affected the livelihoods of the farmers (Angeles, 2022).

With this, the study determined the level of biosecurity measures adopted by the tilapia hatchery farmers in Brgy. Sto. Domingo, Bay, Laguna. Specifically, this study aimed to (a) present the profile of the tilapia hatchery farmers and their hatcheries; (b) identify the biosecurity practices implemented by the tilapia hatchery farmers; (c) discuss the level of adoption of biosecurity practices by the tilapia hatchery farmers; (d) analyze the factors affecting the level of adoption of biosecurity practices by the tilapia hatchery farmers; and (e) formulate recommendations to improve the level of biosecurity measures implemented by the tilapia hatchery farmers.

The respondents of the study were composed of 15 small-scale, 13 medium-scale, and 4 large-scale tilapia hatchery farmers obtained through the simple random sampling design wherein a randomly selected population of tilapia hatchery farmers was selected with a 95% confidence interval and a 5% margin of error. Through face-to-face interviews, a semi-structured survey questionnaire was used to answer the socio-demographic profile of the tilapia hatchery farmers, their accessibility to various agricultural extension tools, the characteristics of their hatchery, the status of their hatcheries during the outbreak, knowledge about tilapia diseases and the causes of the transmission of tilapia diseases, their applied biosecurity practices under the three components, namely isolation, traffic control, and sanitation, and their recommendations or suggestions of what kind of support from the government they wanted to receive. A key informant interview was also conducted that provided richer understanding for the additional information needed in the study, specifically the susceptible and resistant tilapia species encountered by the farmers during the outbreak. Statistical summary through descriptive statistics was used to analyze the socio-demographic profile of the tilapia hatchery farmers, hatchery profile, and applied biosecurity practices. As to the level of adoption of biosecurity practices, a linear scoring system was used to identify the adoption index. Lastly, for the factors influencing the implementation of biosecurity practices, binary logistic regression was used.

The tilapia hatchery farmers in Brgy. Sto. Domingo in Bay, Laguna, was dominated by young male farmers belonging to the millennial generation, with around half of them having aged less than or equal to 44 years old. More than half finished high school education, with almost the entirety of them considering tilapia hatchery farming as their main source of income. Thus, the TiLV outbreak made it even more difficult for the respondents, given that half of them were also below the poverty line and were earning less than or equal to 12,082 pesos monthly. Despite nearly three-fourths of them having a long experience in tilapia hatchery farming, with the longest being 43 years and being a member of a fish farming cooperative or organization, less than half were able to participate in seminars about fish management and seminars about fish disease management. This reflected the knowledge of the tilapia hatchery farmers about tilapia diseases and their causes of transmission, wherein they had poor knowledge of tilapia diseases but had a basic knowledge of the causes of transmission of tilapia diseases. In terms of the profile of their hatcheries, nearly all of the respondents use personal savings as source of capital, while less than one-fourth source theirs from loans and family members. More than half of them only rent the land where their hatcheries were established and around half of the respondents were working under small-scale operations.

The least adopted biosecurity practices under the isolation component were the establishment of fences, maintaining a greater than or equal to the 1-kilometer distance from other hatcheries and a greater than or equal to the 500-meter distance from the main road, ensuring the absence of other animals inside the hatchery, and the practice of pest control and rodent control, while the most adopted practices were the separation of newly acquired broodstock, an inspection of signs of diseases, and the practice of an all-in, all- out system. In terms of traffic control, none of the respondents put up restriction signs, while less than one-fourth restricted visitors from going inside the hatchery and near the ponds, maintained a visitor's log, and required the visitors to have a separate set of clothes before entering the hatchery. Conversely, more than half established their packing areas near the entrance of the hatchery, while nearly all of them practiced limited movement of the fingerlings.

As to the sanitation component, none of the farmers had footbaths. Less than half established handwashing stations, reported diseases in the hatchery, monitored and recorded water quality, and showered upon entering the hatchery. On the other hand, more than half allotted separate working clothes, and all the respondents cleaned and drained the ponds, performed cadaver management, prohibited the selling of sick fingerlings, and had a water inlet and outlet. While medium-scale tilapia hatchery farmers were more compliant than the small-scale in general, the results also revealed that small- scale tilapia hatchery farmers were more compliant in certain biosecurity practices under isolation, traffic control, and sanitation. The most common factors that influenced these results are the socio-demographic profile of the tilapia hatchery farmers and the profile of their hatcheries.

The tilapia hatchery farmers in Brgy. Sto. Domingo, Bay, Laguna had a moderate level of adoption of biosecurity practices, with an adoption rate of 59.38%. With respect to the components, traffic control was the least adopted component, with an adoption rate of 31.70%, while the most adopted component was sanitation, with an adoption rate of 57.81%.

While specific factors could only be associated with specific biosecurity practices, the socio-demographic profile of the respondents, their accessibility to various agricultural extension tools, and profile of the hatchery all influenced the adoption of biosecurity practices. In terms of isolation practices, the level of educational attainment and monthly income, attendance to seminars on fish management, membership in a fish farming cooperative or organization, and amount of capital influenced the decision of the farmers to implement such practices. Meanwhile, farm area and scale of operation affected the decision to implement traffic control practices. As to sanitation, age, sex, and other sources of income were the main influences of the farmers in implementing sanitation practices. However, factors such as the attendance to seminars on fish management and educational attainment was revealed to be an indirect influence only and it was the level of monthly income that directly influenced the adoption of isolation practices.

Recommendations were also provided in the study for the tilapia hatchery farmers of Brgy. Sto. Domingo, Bay, Laguna, the local government of Bay, Laguna, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA), and the future researchers. For the tilapia hatchery farmers, the biosecurity measures that were not well implemented have to be addressed. The utilization of cooperatives to form a strong network and communication and promote encouragement in terms of participation in seminars was also recommended. Moreover, another recommendation was the reporting of diseases and maintaining and monitoring of water quality through close cooperation with Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA), respectively. In line with this, recommendations for the local government of Bay, Laguna consisted of the provision of equipment, providing regular visitations between local aquatic veterinarians and the tilapia hatchery farmers, and credit programs, as this could help capacitate the tilapia hatchery farmers in implementing biosecurity practices in their hatcheries.

For Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), it was recommended to conduct seminars on fish disease management, which include farmers regardless of their scale of operations. Aside from this, financial resources and incentives were also recommended to be given to the farmers, especially when reporting cases of diseases in their hatcheries. Given that resources are limited, it was also suggested that BFAR and the local government work together to focus on improving the biosecurity practices regarding traffic control, given that it was the least adopted biosecurity practice component of the tilapia hatchery farmers. Strict rules and regulations should also be imposed across the actors of the value chain of tilapia production along with the development of short-term, medium-term, and long-term strategies against the TiLV outbreak. Moreover, it was recommended for LLDA to assist in water quality testing services and collaborate with the local government and BFAR in the dissemination of water quality testing kits and regular visitations to the ponds.

Lastly, it was recommended to future researchers to include the study of the implemented biosecurity practices by the other actors in the value chain of tilapia production, which includes the trading, processors, and institutional buyers. In-depth studies can also be conducted about the factors that influence the higher compliance of small-scale tilapia hatchery farmers as compared to medium-scale hatcheries and the constraints faced by the tilapia hatchery farmers in adopting biosecurity practices.

Language

English

LC Subject

Tilapia, Aquaculture industry, Biosecurity

Location

UPLB College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Call Number

LG 993 2023 M17 Z37

Notes

Viewing access to electronic resources is restricted solely to UP Gmail accounts. Any access and share requests from external organizations and personal email accounts will be promptly declined.

Document Type

Thesis

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS