The Zamboanga Sibugay Province has three (3) island municipalities namely; Olutanga, Mabuhay, and Talusan. The supply of fresh seafood in these areas are quite abundant. Living in a municipality surrounded by seawater, Arnel A. Albarico, a young farmer and an active 4-H Club member of Mabuhay grew up in a town wherein engaging in fishing and aquamarine activities became an alternative livelihood source for most of the young farmers in the locality.

Aside from providing additional income, seaweed production helps protect shorelines and marine species by elevating oxygen supply to the waters thereby locally reducing the effects of ocean acidification and de-oxygeneration.

Agar-agar production is one of the major sources of livelihood among Mabuhaynon people who are living near coastal areas. There are two systems used in culturing seaweeds in Mabuhay. One is the submerged system in which seaweed farmers used stakes with rope and off-bottom monoline. Another is the modified floating raft and long-line floating system which uses floaters connected to a rope or binders.

As a Municipal 4-H Federated President of Mabuhay, Mr. Albarico has been involved in numerous agricultural activities be it in the LGU, PLGU, or Regional level. He was also part and became an awardee of the Young Farmers Challenge (YFC) Program of the Department of Agriculture (DA). Although he grew up in an island municipality, Arnel was more into gardening or vegetable production.

Seaweed farming was a bit of a challenge for Arnel, yet he took the Binhi ng Pag-Asa Program (BPP) as a blessing not just for him but also for the other 4-H club members in their municipality.  It became a great opportunity to learn the skill that has long been a source of livelihood for the majority of the Mabuhaynons.

Being in an island municipality made it difficult to participate in trainings since mobility is not easy and costly, but the BPP program made it possible for the twenty-five (25) young farmers to undergo a 3-day training with free food and shelter and their preferred starter kits. With the support of the LGU, Arnel was also able to share and transfer his gained knowledge and skills to the farming youth of Mabuhay.

The BPP program helps alleviate the life of our young farmers in the coastal areas. This has generated more employment in the area as the siblings and parents of our beneficiaries also got involved in sustaining the program. The demand is increasing and the buyers are growing too. BPP did not only tap into the lives of the beneficiaries but also the budding young farmers in the area. Arnel’s passion for taking the youth of Mabuhay to the next level was pretty evident when he and two (2) other BPP beneficiaries from Mabuhay defended their project proposal in the 2022 BPP National Summit Project Proposal Making Contest.

Arnel does not only have stored knowledge to share, but a great story to tell. Mabuhay ka Arnel, at mabuhay ang kabataan ng Mabuhay!