The city will be distributing some 10,000 free range chicks and some 200 bee colonies to identified beneficiaries in the various barangays to provide additional sources of livelihood for the residents who have been heavily impacted by the ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
City Veterinarian Dr. Bridgit Piok disclosed that some 1,000 recipients will benefit from the approximately 10,000 free range chicks while some 100 beneficiaries will be getting their allocation of 2 colonies of bees each from the City Veterinary and Agriculture Office (CVAO).
She claimed that each of the beneficiaries of the free range chicks will be getting some 10 chicks which they will have to take care of in the next 6 months.
Under the agreement with the beneficiaries of the free range chicks, each of them will be returning to the city government at least 20 unhatched eggs which will be hatched and that the chicks that will be produced will be distributed to another batch of beneficiaries of the aforesaid livelihood program.
On the other hand, the recipients of the 2 colonies of bees each will be mandated to return to the city 1 colony of bees each after 6 months which will in turn be distributed to other recipients in the waiting list to sustain the implementation of the said livelihood assistance program for heavily impacted residents.
Aside from the dispersal of free range chicks and bees, the local government is currently distributing some 1,800 rabbits to some 300 identified beneficiaries from the various barangays of the city as alternative sources of livelihood and contribute in the overall efforts of the government to provide additional sources of protein apart from the expensive pork and other meat products.
She disclosed that the ongoing distribution of the rabbits, free range chicks and bees will be completed by the end of the month so that the reproduction of these could immediately start and for the residents to have additional sources of income.
Piok encouraged the beneficiaries of the city’s livelihood assistance program to make sure they will take good care of the animals they receive so they can increase these for the benefit of other recipients who are waiting for their turn to avail of the said program in the coming months.
According to her, the rabbits, free range chicks and bees were purchased by the city government from the P10 million earlier allocated by the agriculture department as part of the assistance for local hog raisers who have been displaced by the campaign of the local government to dismantle commercial and backyard piggery farms in the city being a highly urbanized city.
However, the planned put up of a commercial piggery farm was never realized because of various issues and concerns on the properties that were identified to serve as a site for the same which was supposed to be managed by the cooperative composed of displaced hog raisers. By Dexter A. See
