Reducing Farmers' Economic Risk Burden, Kadin Encourages Bulog To Absorb Livestock Infected With FMD

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry encourages the government to absorb livestock, especially cattle that are exposed to or infected with mouth and nail disease (FMD) to serve as a national meat buffer stock. This is also an effort to reduce the economic burden of farmers.

Deputy Commissioner for Livestock Services, Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Yudi Guntara Noor said an assignment by the National Food Agency to Bulog was needed to absorb livestock infected with FMD.

Later, Yudi continued, Bulog could cooperate with Slaughterhouses (RPH) which have the infrastructure for handling livestock slaughtering under the condition of PMK.

"This form of assignment is carried out to reduce the burden of economic risk on farmers affected by FMD," he said in a webinar, Friday, July 1.

Yudi said that Perum Bulog still imports buffalo meat from other countries that have not been free from PMK, namely Indian Buffalo Meat (IBM) of 80,000 to 100,000 tons per year. The absorption of livestock infected with FMD can be a contingency plan movement.

Moreover, Yudi continued, based on a survey several abattoirs in Indonesia were able to hedge glandular removal. In fact, it has a slaughtering capacity of 300 heads per day, as well as the cooling capacity is sufficient to store meat. The majority of the RPH facilities are located in West Java.

"If this is done by Perum Bulog, this will be a movement for the contingency plan and even though this has already happened," he said.

Bulog is ready to absorb livestock if there is an assignment

Previously, the Corporate Secretary of Perum Bulog, Awaludin Iqbal, said that basically his party or other SOEs would be ready if assigned to absorb livestock infected with FMD.

However, Iqbal explained that because of Bulog's position as an operator, it was necessary to have a prior assignment for the absorption of beef or livestock infected with FMD.

"Actually, all SOEs are essentially ready (to carry out) all assignments from the government," he said in a virtual discussion, Thursday, June 30.

However, said Iqbal, it is also necessary to think about the impact from the upstream to the downstream side if the absorption of beef or livestock infected with the FMD outbreak is carried out. According to him, education and outreach to the public regarding oral and nail diseases in livestock must be carried out.

"Earlier, it was said that this PMK cannot infect humans. But this must be done by educating and outreaching to the public that this virus does not attack humans, meaning that the problem of FMD is in the cows or not with the consumers. " he said.