ARMM holds workshop for Halal chevon stakeholders

COTABATO CITY – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Agriculture (DA) in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) have conducted a workshop for entrepreneurs involved in Halal chevon or goat meat.

DTI-ARMM Secretary Atty. Anwar Malang said the recent workshop was conducted in line with the government’s efforts to make the autonomous Muslim region the country’s “Halal Hub”.

Atty. Ranibai Dilangalen, Department of Agriculture Undersecretary, said Halal is not only limited to the absence of pork ingredients. “We should enlighten the community about Halal production for them to fully understand even its basic principles,” she said.

The workshop seeks to widen the knowledge of stakeholders about the Halal industry as an emerging economic phenomenon in the world market. It was also aimed at exploring the wide array of market potential for Halal chevon production and to identify the gaps in the supply chain of chevon, from production to marketing.

The goat industry in the country has been identified as a “sunshine industry” brought about by the high demand for chevon meat both domestic and global, as well as the sufficient supply of goat dominated by backyard raisers and slowly becoming popular among commercial raisers.

The workshop was conducted through the Philippine Rural Development Program I – Plan and attended by participants involved in the processing, production and marketing of goat meat within the region and government and nongovernmental institutions mandated to boost the development of the Halal industry in the region.

Asc part of the region’s efforts in the development and promotion of the Halal industry, the Office of the Regional Governor released a memorandum directing all its offices and agencies to create programs, projects, missions and visions that should be anchored on the ARMM Vision.

The ARMM Vision states that: “By 2040, the peoples in the Bangsamoro are self-governing with predominantly middleclass society living in safe communities, having a dynamic economy including a Halal ecosystem, enjoying inclusive peace and diverse cultures, who shall enhance sustainable development ensuring that responsibilities and benefits are shared by all.”

In May 2016, former President Benigno Aquino III signed Republic Act No. 10817 to ensure the integrity and quality of Philippine Halal exports and to promote its growth in the domestic and international markets.

R.A. 10817, or the “Philippine Halal Export Development and Promotion Act of 2016”, is a legislation instituting the Philippine Halal export development and promotion program, creating for the purpose the Philippine Halal Export Development and Promotion Board, and for other purposes.