A mud crab or mangrove crab (Scylla serrata) enterprise in southern Negros Occidental that nearly collapsed due to weather-related concerns is getting a second chance through a low-cost farming technology designed to withstand the growing impacts of climate change.
Ilog Entrepreneurs Association (IEA) president Trinidad Diamante told Brigada News FM Philippines on Wednesday, June 10, that they had difficulty fattening mud crabs before because they used traditional cages made of bamboo and wood.
“It was difficult to harvest the crabs whenever the weather changed, because the cages were heavy. Some crabs would die,” she said.
The association began in 2023 with a “seafood bagsakan” project in Purok Cordova, Barangay Bocana, Ilog town, funded by a P315,000 Seed Capital Fund (SCF) grant from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) under its Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP).
The project allowed members to consolidate and market fish, crabs, and other marine products at a single shop, making seafood more accessible to buyers while sparing fisherfolk the long trips to sell their catch.
Encouraged by the project’s early gains, the group expanded into mud crab fattening in 2024 to increase the value of their catch.
But the venture soon ran into trouble.
“Crabs were raised in traditional bamboo-and-wood cages placed in brackish river waters, exposing them to fluctuating temperatures and changing environmental conditions. As extreme heat and erratic weather affected water quality, crab mortalities increased and production losses mounted,” Diamante said in Hiligaynon.
The setbacks reduced the association’s membership from 21 to just seven active members.
Innovation
Determined to keep the livelihood alive, the group sought help from Central Philippines State University (CPSU)-Ilog in 2025.
Through a partnership involving the said university, the Office of Negros Occidental Sixth Congressional District, the local government unit (LGU), and the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office (MSWDO), the association adopted the Crab Vertical Farming Technology (CVFT), a research-based system designed to make mud crab fattening more resilient to weather-related disruptions.
According to CPSU-Ilog Research Director Dr. Paul Doronila, the technology consists of 48 individual fattening cages made from recyclable plastic containers housed inside a shaded structure.
Unlike traditional river-based cages, “the technology uses a submersible pump that continuously circulates water with specially formulated components to maintain ideal conditions for crab growth, while monitoring water quality and temperature,” he said.
Doronila said the technology is 40 to 50 percent cheaper than commercially available vertical crab farming systems because it uses recyclable materials, making it affordable for small-scale community-based enterprises.
More importantly, he said, it was designed to help aquaculture operators adapt to increasingly unpredictable weather conditions.
The association began operating the technology in January 2026 at a cost of P60,000, allowing members to resume mud crab fattening under more controlled conditions.
More support
The technology’s potential drew further support, leading DSWD to grant an additional P300,000 Project Development Advancement Grant (PDAG) to finance the setup of another CVFT with 48 cages, along with plans to breed their own crabs.
DSWD-SLP Project Development Officer Precious Apryl Cayot said, “the expansion will also include a solar-powered system to address issues during prolonged power outages that could disrupt the pump’s continuous water circulation and, in turn, cause the deaths of crabs.”
Doronila said that CPSU is willing to transfer the technology to community-based organizations nationwide, free of charge. “The technology is intended for transfer to the community and not for commercialization.”
Diamante, in response, said that because of the technology, they are no longer afraid of bad weather, as they can still harvest and fatten mud crabs even in challenging conditions, using both traditional and innovative methods. New members have joined, bringing the total to 15.
She said the technology can increase the weight of a mud crab, which initially weighs just 200 grams, by at least another 100 grams—often more—within one to two weeks through feeding them small fish, oysters, and other marine products.
Fully grown crabs are sold for P500 to P600 per kilo, depending on their weight, Diamante added.
Meanwhile, Doronila said the university is developing a plant-based feed alternative for mud crab fattening to lessen entrepreneurs’ reliance on oysters and other marine products traditionally used as feed. *
Reymund Titong is a Filipino journalist steadily building his voice in the field of news reporting, driven by a commitment to tell meaningful and relevant stories.
He serves as a correspondent for Rappler, contributes to Negros Daily Bulletin, and maintains a blog on Medium.