TUBOD, Lanao del Norte (PIA)--Eighty farmers from the municipalities of Balo-i and Tagoloan received free-range chickens from the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) on Monday, August 16.

The dispersal was funded under the 5% GAD Fund of the Provincial Government of Lanao del Norte and the recipients were marginal farmers with severely underweight children as evaluated by the Barangay Nutrition Committee.

Forty (40) farmers from Balo-i and another 40 from Tagoloan received five (5) heads of Philippine Heritage Native Chickens as their capital consisting of four (4) hens and one (1) rooster.

"The local barangay officials and the PVO will assist in the monitoring, and the beneficiaries will handle the maintenance. Once the chicken comes into the production stage, the eggs will be collected by the beneficiaries and sent to the hatchery department in PVO. After the eggs hatch, they will be sent back to the farmer,” said Provincial Veterinarian Dr. Fritzie Provido.

Meanwhile, Provincial Administrator Sittie Aminah Quibranza Dimaporo who was also present during the distribution encouraged the farmers to care for their chickens to increase the native chicken population in the locality and maximize the utilization of land area in Balo-i and Tagoloan.

The farmers were thankful to the PVO, most especially to Governor Angging, for allocating funds for their families and giving them an alternative livelihood and another source of income to bring nutritious food to their table. (PIO-LDN)