Jakarta, Sept 13 (Antara) - The government is intensively promoting local breeding to increase cattle production in the country and to reduce imports, which still account for about 38 percent of the total need of about 4 million live cows.
In a bid to reduce imports, the government, through the Agriculture Ministry, is developing a Mandatory Special Artificial Insemination Breeding Program (Upsus SIWAB) 2017 across the country.
Aceh Province, in the westernmost tip of Sumatra, is one of the potential regions to carry out the Upsus SIWAB program.
The Ministry of Agriculture has said that it will continue to increase cattle population in Aceh through the SIWAB program, so that the province will become one of the cattle production centers in the archipelago.
"Currently, we are developing the Upsus SIWAB program. Through the program, we can increase the number of calves in order to increase the population of cattle, both in Aceh and other regions, throughout the country," environment expert staff of the Agriculture Ministry, Mukti Sardjono, stated in Blangpidie, Southwest Aceh District (Abdya), on Monday (Sept 11) .
Sardjono came to Abdya in order to attend the vaccination of cattle against Septicaemia Epizootica (SE) disease that was prevalent in the district. At the same time, he reviewed the development of the Upsus SIWAB program there.
The vaccination program was centered on the banks of the Krueng Baru River, Sabil Valley Sub-District. Head of Livestock Office of Aceh, Zulyazaini Yahya; Abdya District Head, Akmal Ibrahim; Abdya Military leader, Leuietenant Colonel Puji Hartono; and other local leaders, as well as hundreds of local communities, attended the event.
Sardjono noted that the Upsus SIWAB program is implemented using good quality straw (frozen cement) and superior seeds. If the program is carried out well, the efforts to increase local cattle population would be successful in Indonesia.
According to Sardjono, the local government is also expected to provide feed and maintain the health of livestock as well as provide straw for the needs of cattle broodstock to support the Upsus SIWAB program.
"On the national scale, about 81 percent of the Upsus SIWAB program had been carried out, but for Aceh, only 25 percent has been realized. There are still lots of things that have to be done. The program faced obstacle sometime ago because of political conditions due to the frequent change in head of the local Agricultural Service. It caused the program to run at a snail pace. But in the last three months, the program has been running smoothly," he remarked.
Yahya explained that the number of buffaloes in Abdya District exceeded the number of population in his district.
By raising buffaloes, parents were able to earn money to send their children to pursue education until they secured undergraduate degrees. They could also afford performing the hajj pilgrimage to the Holy Land, he revealed.
"Now the buffalo population has been greatly reduced. According to the information we received from the Head of Agriculture Service of Abdya, the buffalo population in this district is now only about 4 thousand heads," he stated.
Indeed, so far, cattle or buffalo farmers in the districts/municipalities of Aceh province are constrained by the lack of fodder. Animal feed accounts for almost 70 percent of the problems with livestock due to the narrowing of pasture land, he added.
"But now, our efforts will be focused on how to use the abundant agricultural resources for animal feed." We can use the paddy straw for livestock even though it only has 2/3 percent protein. After we have processed it using the appropriate technology, the protein in rice straw can be increased from 8 to 10 percent," he revealed.
He argued that if it can be synergized between agriculture and animal husbandry, God willing, both would be able to meet and realize the success of livestock, especially in the fulfillment of animal feed in Aceh.
Of course, this can be applied across the country, as well in other regions, to make the Upsu SIWAB program a success.
After all, he Upsus Siwab was launched as an endeavor by the government to increase the cattle population at the breeders' level by improving their production management system. The production improvement in the Upus Siwab program is made through examination of the reproduction status; artificial insemination; natural copulation; frozen semen and N2 liquid fulfillment; control on productive female cattle slaughtering; and fulfillment of forage feed and concentrate.
Director General of Animal Husbandry and Animal Health I Ketut Diarmita noted in Jakarta recently (June 21) that through the Upus SIWAB program, the government has targeted to conduct artificial insemination on 4 million female cows.
Sardjono noted on Monday that on the national scale, the Ministry of Agriculture has implemented about 81 percent of the Upsus SIWAB program. ***3***(A014/INE)
EDITED BY INE/H-YH(T.A014/A/BESSR/A/Yosep) 13-09-2017 17:02 |
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