Productivity Of The Dairy Cattle Industry In The Country Is Still Low, The Ministry Of Industry Reveals The Reason

Dairy cows (photo: dock. Antara)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Industry (Kemenperin) said that the dairy industry in the country still faces a number of obstacles to date. One of them is related to the low productivity of dairy farming in Indonesia.

Referring to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the level of milk consumption per capita in Indonesia has only reached 16.27 kg per capita per year or below the average countries in Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, in 2022, the demand for milk will reach 4.4 million tons, but the production of fresh milk in Indonesia has only reached 968,980 tons.

"Currently, the condition of the national company needs attention. Because milk is a balanced source of nutrition needed by the human body," said Director General of Agro Industry at the Ministry of Industry Putu Juli Ardika in Jakarta, Monday, July 10.

Putu even revealed other obstacles that are being faced by the dairy cow farm sector in Indonesia, such as the small scale of cattle ownership, limited land, and the high cost of enlargement.

Then, the lack of understanding of good daily farming practices, the stagnation of breeders due to the low interest of young people (the average age of Indonesian dairy farmers is 56 years), as well as the decline in nail and mouth disease (PMK) which has infected more than 538 thousand livestock in 17 provinces last year, of which 72 thousand are dairy cows.

Even so, the Ministry of Industry still appreciates one of the dairy industries, namely PT Frisian Flag Indonesia (FFI) which has initiated the "Young Progressive Farmer Academy" program. The program aims to increase the productivity of dairy farms in Indonesia.

"Through this program, young breeders can play a role in increasing domestic milk production. Because currently, the supply of domestic milk raw materials is only available for 20 percent," said Putu.

He said the Young Progressive Farmer Academy Program was one of Frisian Flag Indonesia's initiatives to encourage the interest of young people to become breeders and improve the welfare of dairy farmers in Indonesia through capacity building.

The program also aims to find young farmers who are progressive in developing dairy farms that not only improve their welfare, but also sustainable or environmentally friendly.

According to Putu, this is in line with efforts to create a healthy, prosperous, and environmentally aligned society.

"It is hoped that in the next three years, the winner of the Young Progressive Farmer Academy program will grow to become a medium-scale farmer with an increase in revenue of up to 50 percent," he added.