DOST releases livelihood assistance to LGU Biliran

Hon. Mayor Casil (center) receives the check from DOST-8

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The Municipal Government of Biliran, represented by its very own Municipal Mayor Honorable Grace Casil, received a financial assistance in the amount of PhP 250,000 from DOST-8 for the Establishment of Common Service Facility for Meat Processing during the recently conducted SETUP Forum in Naval, Biliran on January 12, 2015.

The funding support is intended for the purchase of necessary equipment to be used by local residents who are producing processed meat products. The project is primarily aimed to assist the household meat processors in improving the quality of their processed meat products and enhance their production skill through the establishment of a common service facility for meat processing.

The equipment will be housed in a building that will be provided by the LGU as counterpart. Identified beneficiaries who are producing meat products but have no equipment at home can go to the facility and use them. The facility will also be used for training new entrepreneurs who want to learn meat processing technologies.

Meat and meat products is a major component of the diet of every Filipino. Food consumption survey conducted by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute show that the average per capita consumption of meat and meat products is around 50 grams per day. Based on this data, an average household of 3 persons would consume a kilo, more or less of meat and meat products every week. FNRI survey further stressed that per capita consumption is also increasing every year. This information would tell us that there is a growing demand for meat products as population grows and further increases as times progresses. Because of these, meat production and processing has become a potential venture even in rural areas.

Several enterprising individuals within the municipality of Biliran, Biliran are among those who took the opportunity to venture into home-based meat processing but because of limited capital for equipment acquisition they end up producing low volume, improperly packed, and even inferior quality products. Homemade processes also compromise food safety and good manufacturing practices and might pose some problems to the consumers.

In response to this scenario, the Municipal LGU of Biliran sought the support of the DOST-Biliran to help establish a common service facility that is equipped with Food Safety and GMP compliant processing equipment for the production of processed meat like tocino, longanisa, ham, and similar products.

The LGU, through its livestock production programs supported by the Department of Agriculture and other private companies like BMEG, assured the availability of raw materials such as locally produced cattles, hogs, and chicken grown by different individuals around the municipality.

With the existing volume of raw materials from local hog growers and the stable demand of the finished product coupled with the willing entrepreneurs group what is only needed is the technology and the facility that would help these producers. Once this is available a supportive LGU will make the project financially viable and sustainable.