THE UNIVERSITY of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) has partnered with the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) to establish a halal and health knowledge hub for the region. 

The envisioned Halal Science and Technology (S&T) and One Health Knowledge Center will be hosted by the UPLB-School of Environmental Science and Management (SESAM).

SEARCA said in a statement that the first phase of the project is to conceptualize the “Halal Industry and One Health ecosystem” as a developing innovation for growth and development.   

“The Halal Science and Technology and One Health Knowledge Center is envisaged to be a virtual one-stop, open-access regional hub for country-to-country and cross-country government-academe-industry exchanges of knowledge and resources related to the growing Halal and One Health global ecosystems,” SEARCA said.   

According to project leader Yusuf A. Sucol, halal is a “growing and promising global market valued at $2.5 trillion in 2020, largely in the food industry.”   

Rico C. Ancog, UPLB-SESAM dean, said the initiative seeks to combine halal requirements with health concepts to develop a more sustainable way of managing livestock and ecosystems.   

SEARCA Director Glenn B. Gregorio said regional competition in Southeast Asia has “stimulated the local and global markets for halal products.” — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave