Ministry Of Agriculture: Government And Private Collaboration Is Important To Achieve Susu Self-Sufficiency

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan) revealed that collaboration between the government and the private sector is important to achieve self-sufficiency in milk.

"We really appreciate the JAPFA and Greenfields initiatives that support the increase in the population and productivity of national dairy cows. We have a commitment to invest in dairy cows of 998,565 individuals in 2025-2029," said Director General of Livestock and Animal Health of the Ministry of Agriculture Agung Suganda, in Probolinggo, East Java, quoted by Antara, Tuesday, July 15.

Agung said collaboration between the private sector and the government like this is very important to accelerate the achievement of the target of self-sufficiency in milk, as well as improve the welfare of local breeders.

In order to support the acceleration of national milk self-sufficiency, JAPFA through its subsidiary PT Santosa Agrindo Lestari (Santori) collaborated with PT Greenfields Dairy Indonesia (Greenfields), distributing dairy cows to 120 local breeders. These breeders are fostered partners who are under the auspices of the Greenfields Cattle Partnership (KSG) program spread across Malang, Blitar, Pasuruan and Batu City, East Java.

This distribution is a follow-up to JAPFA's success in facilitating imports of more than a thousand quality dairy cows from Australia, having previously collaborated with Greenfields to carry out the cow selection process thoroughly before being delivered.

The cows are the result of crossovers from the Holstein and Jersey (crossbreed), which are known to excel in milk productivity and tropical climate resistance.

In addition to receiving cows, partner breeders also receive technical assistance, livestock management training, animal health services, and guaranteed absorption of milk products.

The effort, which will be accompanied by Greenfields through the KSG (Green Greenfields Cattle Partnership) program, is a collaboration designed to strengthen the national milk production chain from upstream to downstream, while increasing the capacity and welfare of people's breeders.

JAPFA Director of Corporate Affairs Rachmat Indrajaya said that this initiative is a tangible manifestation of the commitment of the parties to support national food security from the upstream side.

"By providing quality dairy cows and sustainable assistance, we want to encourage the growth of the local dairy industry as well as strengthen readiness in the face of a surge in demand in the future," said Rachmat.

The increase in milk consumption is one of the main challenges in the national livestock industry. Based on data from the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture in 2023, Indonesia was only able to meet about 20 percent of the national milk needs, while the rest were still dependent on imports. This is due to the low productivity of livestock, varying quality of milk, and limited infrastructure and technology.

Through this step, JAPFA and Greenfields hope to strengthen the foundations of the national dairy industry as well as create a productive, independent, and sustainable people's livestock ecosystem.

Greenfields CEO Akhil Chandra said the program will further increase the number of local farmer partners under the KSG program that has been initiated by Greenfields since 2007, and has partnered with more than 2,000 dairy farmers.

"After the cows are distributed, we will continue to assist farmer partners with various supports, so that livestock management can run optimally and the benefits can be felt sustainably," said Akhil Chandra.

In the end, it is hoped that the people's livestock business can further contribute to efforts to increase domestic Fresh Milk production.