BUTUAN CITY-Pilmico, the food subsidiary of Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc., is kicking off 2016 in high gear as it stages 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 January 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-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 Mahalin Pagkaing Atin-Caraga Pork 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.

Pilmico held its Mahalin Pagkaing Atin program in Butuan City last November 2014, where 450 piglets were donated to deserving beneficiaries. These donations enabled local farmers to sustain their livelihood through an easy-to-manage business with a quick return on investment, despite the threats of poverty, tragedy, or conflict.

To date, the results of Mahalin Pagkaing Atin have been truly encouraging. Nationwide, Pilmico—through the funding of the Aboitiz Foundation, the corporate foundation of the Aboitiz Group—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. In addition, 411 families nationwide are benefitting from theMahalin Pagkaing Atin program at present.