Among the most interesting treasures that make Batanes unique is their famous ‘dibang’ or day-old, Batanes style flying fish that will give you the unique taste of the ‘Home of the Winds.’
Salt is one of the important raw materials in the production of day-old dibang, and thus salt production has become an indispensable activity in the local area. The crude salt produced before will be improved through ITDI technology.
The Industrial Technology Development Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-ITDI) developed technology on salt evaporating setup and salt iodization that was introduced to the local entrepreneurs for adoption.
The iodization technology will make the salt products compliant with the ASIN (Act for Salt Iodization Nationwide) Law or Republic Act No. 8172 that mandates the iodization of food-grade salt produced in the country.
The salt produced will not only benefit the fish processing industry on the island province, but also help it reach its goal of meeting local demand.
Construction of a kiln crystallization bed was on its way last September, but due to typhoon Kiko and the presence of COVID-19 cases in the area, it was rescheduled.
“The salt production with our CEST (Community Empowerment thru Science and Technology program) will sustain the need of the Ivatans not necessarily relying on salt from the mainland,” PSTC Batanes Provincial Director Nora Garcia said in a statement sent to DOST-STII’s NSTW team.
“We all know that salt is a basic need and aside from that, food processing is increasing in the province, and one basic raw material for processing… is salt.”
Garcia also said this technology will help local residents gain employment and engage in income generating activities.
In 2018, the municipality of Uyugan in Batanes became one of the beneficiaries under CEST, one of DOST’s flagship programs. The project was implemented with the help of the Uyugan local government, particularly the Municipal Agriculturist Office and the Uyugan Fish Processors Association, with funds of P140,000 in its first phase.
It was in the second year when materials for salt making were procured, with a fund of P200,000 and P840,000 in the third phase.
To minimize the waste produced during processing (e.g. fish heads, scales, liver, and innards), the group was also trained on how to process them into value products like fish sauce and paste.
Want to know more success stories? Join the science community on a one-week virtual celebration of National Science and Technology Week from Nov. 22-28 with the theme ‘’Agham at Teknolohiya: Tugon sa Hamon ng Panahon.”
For more information, visit the NSTW website at http://nstw.dost.gov.ph/ and NSTW Facebook page at https://web.facebook.com/nstwdost . (by Rachel R. Perez, DOST-STII, S&T Media Service) – jlo
