PMK Threats Ahead Of Eid Al-Adha, DPR Asks The Government To Distribute Cattle Vaccines For Farmers

A number of cattle in the middle of the Medan-Banda Aceh Road in Krueng Sabee District, Aceh Jaya, in May 2019. (Antara)

JAKARTA - The spread of mouth and nail disease (PMK) in livestock in the country is increasingly widespread. It was recorded that thousands of cows in 13 provinces in Indonesia were declared to have contracted the FMD disease.

Responding to this, the chairman of the Gerindra faction in the DPR, Ahmad Muzani, assessed that the spread of FMD in livestock should be a serious concern for the government. Moreover, this livestock disease is not new. Muzani said that FMD had infected thousands of livestock in Indonesia in the 1960s and 1980s. But surprisingly this disease reappeared.

"This disease of the mouth and nails has happened in Indonesia and we have succeeded in dealing with the problem of this FMD outbreak. We should have understood how to handle it, its maintenance, including the matter of vaccines," said Muzani to reporters, Friday, May 20.

According to him, the FMD outbreak is increasingly troubling because people will soon celebrate Eid al-Adha, and make cows as sacrificial animals. This, said Muzani, will have an impact on selling prices and concerns about consuming beef.

Therefore, the Secretary General of the Gerindra Party considers that the emergence of this disease needs to be investigated so that it can be known whether it was due to negligence due to not being selective in bringing cattle from abroad, or whether there are other possible factors.

"I think it is important for us to know that, because this problem will affect the selling price of cattle ahead of Eid al-Adha. There are also concerns about consuming beef, as well as the decline in exports of meat and its derivative products such as milk, shredded and other frozen food because there is a possibility We have been banned by other countries due to the PMK outbreak," explained Muzani.

The deputy chairman of the MPR asked the government to immediately find a solution to this problem. Do not let, said Muzani, this epidemic causes losses for cattle farmers. The government, said Muzani, could distribute vaccines to farmers in various regions, as well as the possibility of providing assistance to cattle breeders. "Of course, from this FMD outbreak the most disadvantaged are cattle farmers. Many of their livestock have died due to this FMD outbreak," he said. Gerindra, he added, suggested that the government should provide assistance to farmers who experienced losses so that they would not be too burdened. "Then the distribution of vaccines must also be rushed and massive, so that efforts to restore the national economy after COVID-19 are not disrupted," he concluded.