The provincial government of Southern Leyte has offered hog raising as livelihood for farmers and fishermen displaced by coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
Under its Covid-19 recovery program dubbed “Pagandam sa Bag-ong Panahon” (Preparation for a New Era), the province initially identified 10 sites for the implementation of its “Hogstel” Facility Project, with an allocation of PHP1.48-million for 2020, taken from the provincial coffer.
In a statement on Tuesday, provincial veterinarian and project focal person Francisco Cabarrubias, said they will construct one “hogstel” with 10 rooms per site, each room enough to house five pigs to be raised by an individual beneficiary until they are sold.
These project sites are in the village of Manalog in Hinungan town, Ambao in Hinundayan, Look in Anahawan, Samoje in San Juan, Bogasong in Libagon, Buenavista in Bontoc, Bogo in Tomas Oppus, Cabul-anonan in Malitbog, Bunga in Padre Burgos, and Hantag in Maasin City.
He added they are using as model, the hogstel project in Pangi village in Libagon town, which is now on its sixth cycle of hog raising since 2018, implemented under the Special Area for Agricultural Development program of the Department of Agriculture.
“The months of August and September were devoted for the bidding and construction of “hogstels” and November and December will be the purchasing of piglets,” Cabarrubias said.
The provincial government will also provide the inputs or feeds for the first cycle, and once the raised hogs are sold, the initial capital (cost of inputs and piglets) will be returned, while the profit will be used by the beneficiary as starting capital for the following cycles.
“Recipients of this program were screened by the respective local agricultural offices to ensure that they are residents displaced by the pandemic. They must also be between 21 to 59 years old, who belong to the agriculture or fisheries sector, and are willing and able to work,” Cabarrubias said.
He added that they will also closely coordinate with businessmen for the marketing of pigs at a price of not less than PHP110 per kilo. (PNA)
