‘Odette’-stricken farmers get P3.4-M livelihood aid

By Glazyl Y. Masculino

BACOLOD City – Some livestock and poultry raisers from three towns and five cities of the second and third districts in Negros Occidental received over P3.4 million worth of livelihood assistance from the provincial government.

The funds for the said assistance are a component of the P36.5-million Negros Occidental Typhoon “Odette” Livestock and Poultry Rehabilitation Program that was sourced from the Quick Response Fund of the Department of Agriculture (DA), according to Dr. Placeda Lemana, provincial veterinarian.

Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson led the distribution of the assistance at the public plaza of E.B. Magalona town last week.

Beneficiaries from the towns of Manapla, E.B. Magalona, and Murcia, and the cities of Cadiz, Sagay, Talisay, Silay, and Victorias, received 48 carabaos, 72 goats, and 696 free-range chickens, all worth P3,431,520.

Lemana said the assistance aims to restore the damage to the livestock and poultry industry in the province, as well as to replace the animals lost when the typhoon struck the province on December 16, 2021.

Being the host of the said ceremonial turnover on October 11, the municipality of E.B. Magalona also received 600 free-range chicks and 15 pullets that will be given to its swine raisers.

Two hundred bottles of fresh cow’s milk were also given to daycare centers of Poblacions I, II, and III, as part of the Provincial Capitol’s Milk Feeding Program.

Both the free-range chicks and the fresh milk came from the Provincial Livestock Breeding Center and Dairy Farm in Barangay La Granja, La Carlota City.

Meanwhile, local officials encouraged the beneficiaries to cooperate in the re-dispersal program of the provincial government so that more livestock and poultry raisers in the province can avail of similar assistance. They also appealed to them to take care of the said animals.

The provincial government said that the same project distributions have been ongoing in various districts of the province in previous months.