Pork Festival kicks off in Butuan

BUTUAN CITY, Philippines – Pilmico, the food subsidiary of Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc., kicked off the year in high gear with the holding of the Mahalin Pagkaing Atin-Caraga Pork Festival as part of the company’s ongoing sustainable entrepreneurship program across the country.

The event, organized in partnership with Winrock International-PCCP-COP, was held last Jan. 29 at Big Daddy’s Convention Center in Butuan City and was targeted toward the region’s local farmers and entrepreneurs.

Dan Guhdal of Winrock International and Norie Bermudez, Pilmico vice president for feed sales, addressed the festival, while representatives from the Department of Trade and Industry held a branding and selling workshop.

Several seminars on animal husbandry and nutrition, including a cooking competition, and cooking demos by Mahalin Pagkaing Atin Ambassador chef Boy Logro, were also held, where the different flavors of Caraga were showcased using pork dishes.

The festival forms part of Pilmico’s Mahalin Pagkaing Atin program, a campaign introduced in mid-2014 that aims to promote sustainable entrepreneurship through local produce and instill a “pride of product, pride of place” mindset for both farmers and local consumers, thus enabling operators to maximize profit without passing through middlemen.

During these campaigns, Pilmico donates piglets and egg machines, which consist of a complete kit of pens containing 48 six-month-old ready-to-lay hens and rearing cages with built-in feeding trough, waterer, and one month worth of feeds.

These donations enable local farmers to sustain their livelihood through an easy-to-manage business with a quick return on investment.

To date, Pilmico, through the funding of the Aboitiz Foundation, has already donated a total of 796 piglets and 223 egg machines, as well as assisted 14 agri-posts where beneficiaries receive feedbags as restart-up capital.

The program has so far benefitted 411 families nationwide.

Pilmico, guided by its promise to be Partners for Growth, has been providing customers with high-quality wheat flour and related products since 1962. It also excels in swine production and animal feeds.