Ilocos Norte’s provincial government distributed PHP12.6 million in livelihood support to 2,779 farmers and fisherfolk at the Ilocos Norte Agriculture and Fisheries Extension Center on Thursday.

The assistance included 363 piglets with starter feed, eight incubator units, seven forage chopper units and various agricultural inputs, such as a weighing scale, cooler, rice seeds, fertilizers, water pumps, grass cutters, and irrigation hose.

During the distribution, Governor Cecilia Araneta-Marcos said the amount was sourced from the provincial government’s share of Republic Act 7171, or the so-called tobacco excise tax.

“Our Provincial Veterinary Office and the Office of the Provincial Agriculture teamed up for this to prioritize your livelihood because you are our heroes that feed our families,” Araneta-Marcos said in her speech.

She said the provincial government, through its Agri Ka Dito program, continues to roll out the initiative to ensure there is enough food on the table for every family amid the rising cost of living.

A beneficiary, Romeo Dela Cruz, a person with disability and father of two, from remote Barangay Santa Maria, Piddig, Ilocos Norte, said that the piglet and starter feed he just received from the provincial government will serve as a start-up to boost his livelihood.

“Thank you so much to the provincial government for this livelihood assistance. I’m just a house husband and a farmer. I can start all over again,” Dela Cruz said in the vernacular, as he found the courage to raise pigs again after the province had recovered from the African swine fever outbreak.

Before the distribution, all beneficiaries underwent a selection and validation process through their respective municipal agricultural offices to ensure that assistance reaches those most in need.

The provincial government said the “Agri Ka Dito” program aims to help farmers recover and empower communities to rebuild resilient livelihoods, supporting a thriving, sustainable agricultural sector. (PNA)