Pilmico grants livelihood aid to farmer-beneficiaries in NegOr

ZAMBOANGUITA, Negros Oriental, August 26 (PIA) –  Pilmico, the food subsidiary of Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc., donated piglets, egg machines, and bakery kits worth over P.5 million as livelihood assistance to 28 farmer-beneficiaries in Negros Oriental.   Corporate Communications Supervisor Anna Carreon of Pilmico said the livelihood of 28 locals benefited from the livelihood assistance which consists of 30 piglets (two piglets per beneficiary; each with one-cycle feed consumption), 10 egg machines (48-chicken set each with once-cycle feed consumption) and three bakery kits.

The livelihood kits were turned over to pre-screened beneficiaries recently at Pilmico’s Mahalin Pagkaing Atin Food and Livelihood Expo held at the municipal gymnasium here.    The piglet package costs P15,000 each and is distributed to 15 recipients, while 10 beneficiaries received egg machines each costing around P40,000 per package.    Bakery starter kits donation package worth around P17,000 was each given to three bakers.   “As part of its efforts to champion sustainable livelihood and backyard farming throughout the country, Pilmico donated these livelihood kits to selected beneficiaries through its flagship corporate social responsibility program, Mahalin Pagkaing Atin,” said Carreon.

The piglets, egg machines and bakery kits will enable local farmers to sustain their livelihoods through an easy-to-manage business with a quick return on investment, despite the threats of poverty, tragedy or conflict.    These donations are part of Pilmico’s Mahalin Pagkaing Atin program, a campaign introduced in mid-2014 that aims to promote sustainable entrepreneurship through promotion of local produce and instil a “pride of product, pride of place” mindset for both farmers and local consumers, thus enabling operators to maximize profit without passing through middlemen.

“To date, the results of Mahalin Pagkaing Atin have been truly encouraging,” said Carreon.   Nationwide, Pilmico has already donated a total of 976 piglets, 283 egg machines, 14 bakery starter packages as well as assisted 14 agri-posts where beneficiaries received feedbags as restart-up capital.   At present, over 400 families have been benefitting from the Mahalin Pagkaing Atin program all over the country.   In addition to the turnover of the livelihood kits, Pilmico also hosted several seminars on animal husbandry and nutrition, basic and advanced baking demos and cooking demos by Mahalin Pagkaing Atin Ambassador Chef Boy Logro where the different flavour  of the Philippines were showcased using pork, chicken, and eggs.

Originally posted in PIA