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EU DELEGATION VOWS SUPPORT FOR BARMM HALAL BEEF PROJECT
MinDA Livestock Program! EU DELEGATION VOWS SUPPORT FOR BARMM HALAL BEEF PROJECT
The European Union Delegation to the Philippines has expressed support for the Mindanao Development Authority-initiated Halal Beef Production Program in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.
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EU Delegation Ambassador to the Philippines Luc Veron, in a virtual conference with officials of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) last week, said the program fits into the priority advocacies of the EU in the nascent Autonomous Region.
Ambassador Veron said existing EU Grant Funds could be allocated to ensure the success of the Bangsamoro Halal Beef Production Program.
When implemented, the Bangsamoro Halal Beef will be the first banner product of the two-year-old Autonomous Regional Government which will be introduced in the $2.1-B world Halal market.
In a program prepared by a Technical Working Group composed of representatives of the MinDA. BARMM Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Agrarian Reform (MAFAR) and the Bangsamoro Development Agency, the Halal Beef Production Program includes: 1. Cattle Fattening Feedlots to be established in all of the 5 provinces within the BARMM where local and imported steers or culled cows will be fattened for at least 150 days before slaughter; 2. Cattle Breeding Feedlots where local and imported heifers will bred to produce steers for fattening and heifers to be used in smaller community-level breeding program; 3. Cattle Upgrading Program which involves the introduction of better quality cattle genetics through a BARMMwide Artificial Insemination or Embryo Transfer Program; 4. Silage Production Program where Bangsamoro farmers, especially former combatants, will be assisted and trained in producing silage and feed materials for both the cattle fattening and breeding programs; 5. Value Adding Program where cattle produced in the feedlots will be slaughtered then processed in established Halal Abattoirs to be marketed in special packs as Bangsamoro Halal Beef; 6. Leather-Making or Tannery Program which will introduce a new industry to the Bangsamoro workers which would process leather from the hides of cattle to be slaughtered in the Halal Abattoirs.
7. Dairy Production and Milk Feeding Program for Bangsamoro schoolchildren which could be undertaken by using dual-purpose breeds in the breeding program, like Brazil’s Girolando.
The Bangsamoro Halal Beef Program Technical Working Group is scheduled to present the blue print of the project to BARMM Chief Minister Ahod “Murad” Ebrahim this week.
The EU Delegation commitment of support comes on the heels of the pledge of support issued by Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Steven J. Robinson two weeks ago.
Ambassador Robinson witnessed the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on Technical Cooperation between MinDA, on one hand, and the BARMM-MAFAR and BDA.
The pilot area for the establishment of the Cattle Fattening Facility is the BDA property within the main camp of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Darapanan, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao. April 3-9, 2021 | 33
