Poultry farmers get livelihood kits from Pilmico, Aboitiz Foundation, DA

Pilmico Foods Corporation (Pilmico) and Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (AFI), in partnership with the Department of Agriculture (DA), gave 12 sets of egg machine kits to farming organizations from Region III.  Aboitiz Group’s food subsidiary, Pilmico, aims to provide the farmers with additional sustainable agribusinesses in the form of Pilmico poultry feeds, an egg weighing scale and animal health products.

Pilmico and AFI also provided the farmers with technical assistance to maximise the use of the livelihood kits and to be more sustainable. Those farmers who have little or no experience in poultry management can become efficient poultry farmers, have alternative sources of income, and at the same time provide fresh eggs for their community.

On January 12 this year, the project was formally launched and signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the farmers.  Other signatories include Maribeth Marasigan, President and Chief Operating Officer of Aboitiz Foundation, Inc.; Christopher Camba, First Vice President for Corporate External Relations, Aboitiz Equity Ventures; Joseph Bernard S. Gamatero II, Vice President for Brand, Marketing & Corporate Social Responsibility, Pilmico Foods Corporation; and Crispulo G. Bautista, Jr., Regional Executive Director, Department of Agriculture Regional Field Office III. 

“Mithiin namin sa Aboitiz Group na matulungan kayo sa abot ng aming makakaya. We aim to co-create resilient, empowered, and sustainable communities dito sa inyong lugar. Sa tulong ninyo, confident kami na sabay-sabay tayong uunlad (It is Aboitiz Group’s goal to extend assistance as much as it can.  We aim to co-create resilient, empowered, and sustainable communities here in your place. With your help, we’re confident that we will all be successful together.)  We will continuously remind you that each one of you is capable of growing. Not all of us here will be businessmen or entrepreneurs or even leaders but our aim is that through this project, each of you will find value in yourselves, strive to achieve your fullest potential, and hopefully, in turn, help somebody else someday,” said Maribeth Marasigan. 

Meanwhile, Crispulo G. Bautista, Jr. welcomed this program as it is aligned with the DA’s goal towards becoming a food secure country. “We, here in the DA, welcome this endeavor coming from Pilmico. This is in line with the ‘One DA Reform Agenda’ in making our country become food resilient and secure with prosperous farmers and fisherfolks. With this pandemic, this Covid-19, we are in the second year. Ito ‘yung mga projects na ine-encourage namin with the private sector and at the same time regular program dito sa DA, yung ating mga community to readily produce their own requirements,” he said. (These are the projects we encourage from the private sector and at the same time, it is a regular program here at DA to help our communities readily produce their own requirements.) 

The egg machine livelihood kits were distributed to 12 farmer organizations in Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, and Zambales. Beneficiaries include: Carmen Farmers Agriculture Cooperative, Apung Anton Farmers Association Inc., Mexico United Farmers & People Association, Amucao Seed Growers, Agro-Industrial Cooperative,  and Responsible on Development for Upland Farmers in Re-covering Kalikasan (RDUCK).