Bangsamoro Agri-Enterprise Programme – Inclusive Agribusiness Development for Human Security

EU and UNIDO team up to stimulate agribusiness development in vulnerable areas in the Philippines.

Cotabato City, 17 January – The European Union and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) officially launched the BAEP’s (Bangsamoro Agri-Enterprise Programme) component on inclusive agribusiness development for human security.

Funded by the EU, this four-year project will support institutions, laboratories and agribusinesses to increase the access of Halal and sea products produced in the BARMM (Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) to local, national and international markets. UNIDO’s assistance will focus on compliance with standards and certification procedures for cattle, goat and poultry, and seaweed and processed sardines.

The launch event was attended by representatives of the European Union Delegation in Manila, UNIDO’s Country Office in the Philippines and key partners that will be involved in BAEP’s implementation, including BARMM’s Ministries of Agriculture, Fisheries and Agrarian Reform (MAFAR), Trade, Investments and Tourism (MTIT), and Science and Technology (MOST), as well as the Bangsamoro Planning and Development Authority (BPDA).

In alignment with the Philippines’ and Bangsamoro’s development priorities, “the project is expected to make a positive impact on the industries and communities of the region, and especially on the Halal and sea product value chains, as we endeavor to work towards peaceful, cohesive, secure and inclusive development in Bangsamoro”, said Datu Hamsur Zaid, National Project Director for BAEP and Chief of MAFAR’s Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Service Division. “BAEP will accompany the EU’s other peace and development programmes to provide support to the BARMM government in delivering peace dividends to communities in the region, in particular in isolated places that often feel left behind”, stated EU Ambassador Luc Véron.

This EUR 4 million (Php 240 million) project is part of the EU’s long-term support to building lasting peace and promoting inclusive development in the BARMM. Funded under the larger the Php 1.23 billion Bangsamoro Agri-Enterprise Programme, this initiative with UNIDO will support small to medium sized producers and businesses in the agri-fishery value chains on the three island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi (BaSulTa), as well as the Halal sector and the promotion of private sector investment throughout the BARMM.