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Farmers fear for meat production as foot-and-mouth disease spreads
Foot-and-mouth disease has infected thousands of cattle in several provinces of Indonesia and could increase demand for imported beef.
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An Agriculture Ministry delegation visits a cattle barn in an area where foot-and-mouth disease has broken out in Gresik regency of East Java on May 10, 2022. (Agriculture Ministry /-)
Indonesian cattle farmers are worried about the threat to their business amid the recent outbreaks of foot-and-mouth (FMD) disease.
The Indonesian Cattle and Buffalo Breeders Association (PPSKI) told The Jakarta Post on Thursday that farmers stood to lose Rp 10 million (US$682) for each animal put down after infection with the virus.
PPSKI chairman Nanang Purus also estimated the damage due to cattle weight loss caused by the disease at Rp 2 million per head.
“We’re concerned, because East Java is a cattle barn center. There is a huge potential of unreported additional cases, because the virus may have spread to other regions during the Idul Fitri holidays,” he told the Post on Thursday, adding that the calculation of the overall losses suffered in affected areas had yet to be determined.
After being free from FMD for three decades, the recent outbreaks mean Indonesia now faces the risk of a spread as Idul Adha, the Islamic Day of Sacrifice, draws closer.
Cattle breeders have seen a drop in demand and are bracing for losses during what should be their most profitable season.
The virus, which has infected thousands of heads of cattle, has been identified as stereotype O of IND2001, a strain that is common in the Southeast Asian region, Agriculture Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo said in a virtual briefing on Wednesday.
