Sustaining Peace! Bangsamoro Farmers Seek Help To Produce Halal Beef

Yesterday, Dept. of Agriculture Undersecretary Datu Zamzamin Ampatuan visited my farm with several farmer leaders to seek help in realizing the long dreamed Halal Beef Production in the formerly conflict-affected Bangsamoro communities.
The Bangsamoro Halal Beef Production was a program which I designed when I was Chairman of the Mindanao Development Authority.
The program was aimed at organizing former Bangsamoro combatants into clusters to be trained in Cattle Fattening with steers and culled cows from Australia.
It, however, failed to take off because of lack of government funding.
This time around, the program will be a private sector initiative to help the organized Bangsamoro farmers.
With the start of the planting of Sorghum whose stalks could be turned into silage, the Halal Beef Production is being pushed once again.
During lunch shared with Usec. Ampatuan, Organic Board Director Renato dela Cruz and the Bangsamoro farmer leaders, I presented the idea of planting Sorghum in Rajah Buayan, Maguindanao first to serve as the foundation of the Halal Beef Program.
After harvesting the Sorghum grains, the stalks could be gathered for silage.
Silage gathered in one hectare could feed 20 Cattle for one year.
It was agreed that to start the project, the farmers will be organized to be able to access funding for the Halal Beef Program which would follow the Sorghum production.
#KungGustoMaramingParaan!
#GovernanceIsCommonSense!