VFI launches livelihood program for Lamac cooperative members

CEBU, Philippines —  Virginia Farms Inc., announced its partnership with Lamac Multi-Purpose Cooperative (LMPC) to kick of a sustainable livelihood program for member farmers.

According to VFI president Rolando E. Tambago this move is also to answer the government’s call to boost the agricultural industry in the country.

Virginia Farms signed last January 13, 2021, Wednesday, a partnership with Lamac Multi-Purpose Cooperative (LMPC) for a buy-back scheme that will benefit members of the cooperative who are into hog farming.

Through the partnership, Virginia Farms will supply LMPC with feeds through their Virginia Feeds brand and will also buy the farmers’ hogs upon harvest at a guaranteed price which will also ensure huge profit to every farmer.

Being one of the beneficiaries of the Department of Agriculture (DA) for their livelihood assistance program for farmers across the country, LMPC was awarded at least P20 million in funds that they can lend to their members who are already engaged in any agriculture-related livelihood.

LMPC General Manager Ellen Limocon said that they decided to partner with Virginia Farms, specifically for the hogs farming, because they find Virginia Farms’ business model as sustainable.

“We have a lot of farmers who are already into hog raising now and often times they always struggle when selling their hogs and with our buy-back partnership with Virginia Farms, having the direct access to the market because of their retail arm The Pork Shop, we have found a sustainable arrangement for our members,” said Limocon.

LMPC currently has over 100,000 members with 29 satellite offices in Cebu.

Limocon added that they will offer loans with only three percent service fee to their members who will be availing of this program.

Virginia Farms officially launched its buy-back program in February 2020 when it also launched its  feeds brand Virginia Feeds, through its Virginia Farmers Solution (VFS) division.

“This division (VFS) was born out of our aim to really provide help to the hog farmers, first here in Cebu then eventually throughout the country, get access to the latest in hog farming from genetics, nutrition and management,” explained Tambago.

Aside from the quality feeds, partner farmers will get access to technical support through training and PIG-skwela on Wheels as well as access to the latest swine genetics that will ensure higher productivity and best quality meat.

Tambago encouraged the stakeholders of LMPC to avail of this sustainable program adding that they project a favorable market environment for pork this year, especially for Visayas players who remain free of the African Swine Fever, thus may absorb most of the demand for pork in the country.

In an article published in The Pig Site, the Philippines is the world’s tenth-largest consumer, eighth-top producer and seventh-largest importer of pork adding that every Filipino consumes about 35 kilograms of meat yearly, including an average of 15 kilograms of pork.

The United States Department of Agriculture also recently reported that the domestic consumption this year is also seen to improve to 1.549 million MT, up eight percent from 2020.