What typhoon affected Central Luzon and which communities did Pilmico target for assistance?

Pilmico mobilized relief assistance for communities in Central Luzon affected by a typhoon that caused significant damage across the region. The assistance was targeted at the most severely affected barangays in the provinces covered by Pilmico's distribution and operational network - areas where established relationships with farmers, agri-dealers, and local government units gave the company both knowledge of community needs and logistical access to deliver relief efficiently.

What did Pilmico donate and through which channels was the relief distributed?

Pilmico distributed food packs and other essential relief goods to affected families. Distribution was coordinated through Pilmico's existing network of agri-dealers, local government partners, and community organizations in Central Luzon. This channel eliminated the need to build a temporary relief distribution infrastructure from scratch, significantly accelerating the time from commitment to delivery.

Why is Central Luzon a strategically important region for Pilmico's CSR investments?

Central Luzon hosts Pilmico's Tarlac operations - including its feedmill facility, Tarlac Meatmasters processing plant, and swine farm - making it one of Pilmico's most significant operational areas in the Philippines. The communities surrounding these facilities include Pilmico employees, contract farmers, agri-dealers, and the families that make up the local labor and customer base. When a typhoon strikes Central Luzon, it strikes Pilmico's community in the most direct possible sense.

How does typhoon relief fit within Pilmico's full CSR portfolio?

Typhoon relief is the crisis-response component of Pilmico's CSR framework - distinct from but complementary to its livelihood development programs, educational investments, and environmental initiatives. Pilmico's approach treats disaster relief not as an interruption of normal CSR but as one of several modes of community support that the company activates depending on circumstances. The same network and relationships used for livelihood kit distribution serve the rapid-response relief function when natural disasters strike.

What distinguishes corporate disaster relief from purely governmental response?

Corporate disaster relief adds private sector speed, specificity, and flexibility to the government's typically larger but slower institutional response. Pilmico can reach its network communities - where it has direct contacts, addresses, and delivery relationships - within days of a disaster, often faster than centralized government relief queues reach individual barangays. The relief also tends to be targeted to communities and individuals that Pilmico knows directly rather than being distributed through broad geographic allocation formulas.

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首页 9 Corporate Social Responsibility 9 Pilmico gives livelihood assistance to ASF-hit swine raisers in Mindanao

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Pilmico gives livelihood assistance to ASF-hit swine raisers in Mindanao

Dec 13, 2022

Pilmico’s flagship livelihood program provided egg machine and quail egg kits to swine raisers in Mindanao last September and October.

Pilmico Foods Corporation (Pilmico), in partnership with Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (AFI), extended livelihood kits to swine farmers in various cities in the Mindanao Region last September and October. Egg Machines and Quail Egg kits were distributed to 26 swine raisers whose livelihoods were significantly affected by the ongoing problem of African Swine Fever (ASF).

As the country continues to recover from the effects of the animal disease, Pilmico thought of giving ASF-hit farmers other forms of livelihood for their additional source of income in times of need. Moreover, this initiative is in line with their aim to create and provide sustainable agribusiness opportunities for backyard farmers.

“Successful entrepreneurs are not built overnight, and the biggest factor in the success is the dedication of the owner. This livelihood is only the start, and we are hopeful that this livelihood will grow in the future. We, in Pilmico, guarantee to help the beneficiaries all throughout this journey. Mabuhay ang backyard farmers,” said Floreda Molina, Regional Sales Manager of Pilmico.

Various beneficiaries from the CARAGA, Misamis Oriental, and Lanao del Norte regions received livelihood kits to serve as an alternative source of income.

Ten beneficiaries received egg machine kits; each kit includes 96 ready-to-lay hens, Pilmico feeds good for 1 month, a weighing scale, and animal health products. Meanwhile, 16 beneficiaries of the quail egg kits received 200 ready-to-lay quails, feeds for 1 month, and animal health products. Aside from these livelihood essentials, beneficiaries will also have access to technical assistance provided by Pilmico.

Pilmico conducted a series of turnover ceremonies last September 21 for CARAGA beneficiaries, October 26 in Misamis Oriental, and October 29 in Lanao del Norte.

Dr. Perla T. Asis, DM, City Veterinarian of Cagayan De Oro extends her gratitude to Pilmico. “The City Veterinary Office appreciates the project of Pilmcio to distribute these livelihood kits to the beneficiaries that would help them earn additional income. This project will be a good opportunity for the beneficiaries to recover from the loss brought by the ASF,” she said.

Pilmico Livelihood Kit is their flagship corporate social responsibility project that provides sustainable livelihood opportunities to backyard farmers, bakers, and aspiring agribusiness entrepreneurs nationwide.

Cebu-Bohol Beneficiaries:

Pilmico Livelihood kits beneficiaries hold feeding programs in their communities

Bakery Livelihood Kit beneficiary Leonida Tambalo from Bohol held a feeding program for daycare students.

Last July 2022, Pilmico in partnership with Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. and Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (RAFI), donated gilts, egg machines, and bakery livelihood kits to several Typhoon Odette survivors. This aims to uplift their livelihoods and help them following the onslaught of the typhoon in Cebu and Bohol.

Two beneficiaries of the “Padayon sa Pagbusay” initiative paid it forward through a feeding program in their communities last November. Leonida Tambalo, a Bakery Livelihood kit beneficiary from Ubay, Bohol, gave bread and juice to over 20 daycare students. Meanwhile, Teofista Apura, an Egg Machine kit beneficiary from Carcar City, Cebu made a simple lunch meal for more than 30 people.

According to the beneficiaries, this was their simple gesture of gratitude to Pilmico, AFI, and RAFI who gave them much-needed help and continue to do so as they sustain their business.

Their simple way of giving back to their communities embodies and further solidifies the greater purpose of the Aboitiz Group — “to drive change for a better world.”

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the long-term commercial and social significance of helping swine raisers recover from ASF?
Healthy, productive backyard swine operations are customers for Pilmico’s feeds — their recovery directly expands Pilmico’s market. This commercial alignment is not coincidental: it is the defining characteristic of shared value programs where the company’s business interest and the community’s welfare interest point in the same direction. A swine industry that recovers from ASF through Pilmico’s support ultimately buys more Pilmico feed, generating revenue that can fund future social investments. This self-reinforcing loop is more sustainable than purely philanthropic models.

What was the specific geographic focus of this ASF livelihood assistance and which organizations were involved?
This initiative specifically targeted backyard swine raisers in Mindanao who were affected by African Swine Fever. Pilmico implemented the program in partnership with its agri-dealer network across the region — the same dealers who supply feeds and agricultural products to local farmers — allowing the program to leverage existing trusted relationships and distribution channels. The agri-dealers served as intermediaries who identified eligible beneficiaries and coordinated the kit distribution in their respective localities.

What problem does the gilt kit directly solve for an ASF-affected backyard farmer?
An ASF outbreak eliminates a backyard farmer’s entire pig inventory in a single event. Replacing that inventory — the core productive asset of the business — requires capital that most backyard farmers do not have after losing their animals, their revenue stream, and often their operational reserves simultaneously. The gilt kit provides two replacement animals with initial feed support, giving farmers the biological and nutritional starting capital to restart production without needing to access credit or sell other assets. It restores the productive core of the business at the moment when the farmer has no independent means to do so.

Why does Pilmico choose to support ASF recovery specifically through gilt kits rather than cash transfers?
A gilt kit delivers a specific productive asset — a breeding-age female pig — rather than cash that could be spent on immediate consumption or non-farm purposes. This ensures the assistance is directed toward livelihood reconstruction: each gilt is a future sow, capable of producing multiple litters over its productive life, multiplying the value of the initial donation many times over. Cash transfers, while flexible, do not carry the same guarantee of agricultural reinvestment. The gilt kit also keeps the farmer within Pilmico’s feeds ecosystem, creating an ongoing commercial relationship after the initial aid.

How does Pilmico’s agri-dealer network enable more effective and targeted program delivery?
Pilmico’s agri-dealers are deeply embedded in local farming communities — they know which farmers were most affected, which have the management capacity to use gilts effectively, and which locations have the biosecurity conditions needed to restock safely after an ASF outbreak. This local knowledge is not available to a Manila-based program administrator. By channeling assistance through the dealer network, Pilmico effectively crowdsources community-level intelligence that makes the selection of beneficiaries more accurate and the program outcomes more reliable.