THE Kapatiran Farm Workers Association (Kafawa) has received livelihood assistance from the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) of Negros Occidental recently.
Kafawa is composed of 40 members who are previously part of the Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa ng Pilipinas/Revolutionary Proletarian Army/Alex Boncayao Brigade.
They received 100 heads of free-range chicken from the provincial government.
The group was also given orientation and a seminar on free-range chicken production management and marketing by the PVO technical personnel.
"This is to make the venture project profitable as an alternative source of daily income of the association members," Provincial Veterinarian Renante Decena said.
It is primarily seen to support the organization and the respective families of the members, he added.
The group also visited one of the provincial farms at the Provincial Livestock Breeding Center and Dairy Farm in Barangay La Ganja in La Carlota City.
There, they were given basic training on different aspects of free-range chicken production such as feeding, housing and incubation.
Decena said the PVO aims to capacitate and engage rebel returnees in animal raising to provide them livelihood opportunities.
Decena said the effort is part of the poverty alleviation program of the provincial government through the PVO.
This is positioned to improve the living condition of the group, as well as pave the way for them to sell not only live animals but also meat products through value-adding, he added.
Kafawa, meanwhile, is a duly registered organization at the Department of Labor and Employment.
The group is chaired by Rene Europa with members from the province's Fourth and Fifth Districts.