Year-round use of lab-lab for fish feed production is now possible through an intelligent and automated harvester in the country that is government-funded. It is first of its kind.
Lab-lab, a local term for algal mat, is a combination of complex microscopic plants usually found at the bottom of fish ponds. It is an excellent source of organic nutrition and is used as natural feeds for milkfish.
Poor water conditions, overgrazing, and inclement weather conditions in the country make lab-lab unavailable for year-round cultivation and utilization.
To address this, the Collaborative Research and Development to Leverage Philippine Economy (CRADLE) grant of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) funded the project, “Development of a Cost-Competitive Aquafeed from Lab-lab.”
The project developed an automated lab-lab harvester capable of collecting lab-lab at any time of the day as long as it is available.
According to the project, 153 grams of lab-lab can be harvested from a 15 ft x 25 ft area using the automated harvester in only five minutes and it requires only one person to operate. This is in comparison to a 30-minute manual harvesting of 400 grams of lab-lab in the same area size that would require five persons.
The project also developed and tested a lab-lab solar dryer that provides a drying technology option for farmers to use after harvest.
The project also determined the cost-effectiveness of lab-lab aquafeed production and determined the nutrient contents of lab-lab.
The project is monitored by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD) of DOST and implemented by De La Salle University, Center for Engineering and Sustainable Development Research (DLSU-CESDR) in partnership with Santeh Feeds Corporation.
DLSU says the project enables farmers to utilize lab-lab as a year-round natural source for milkfish feeds.