Experts have called for caution over the government's ambitious plan to import dairy cattle in its push to achieve milk self-sufficiency as part of efforts to support Prabowo's flagship free meal program, pointing to existing challenges including livestock and disease management as well as smallholder well-being.
he government plans to build a mega dairy farm with an aim to achieve milk self-sufficiency by 2029 to support the free nutritious meal program of incoming president Prabowo Subianto, but farmers and experts have called the plan overly optimistic, pointing to cattle population woes and supply chain challenges.
The plan involves kick-starting the mega farm by importing 1.5 million dairy cows, nearly five times the country’s current population of dairy cattle.
ID Food estimated it would take two to three years for the farm to become operational, Sis Apik Wijayanto, CEO of the state-owned agribusiness holding company, told lawmakers at a meeting on Sept. 11.
The Agriculture Ministry would provide support to investors in acquiring land for pastureland, as well as facilitating licenses and related regulations, he said.
But industry experts have expressed doubt over the ambitious plan, warning that the free meal program could lead to much higher milk imports if the government does not make concurrent efforts to increase domestic supply.
“I’m not so confident in this [self-sufficiency target]. Even before the free milk program, we are seeing 80 percent of our milk demand being met through imports,” Nanang Purus, chairman of the Indonesian Cattle and Buffalo Breeders Association (PPSKI), told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
In 2022, domestic dairy companies produced 900,000 liters of milk, far less than the national demand of 4.4 million liters, according to dat from the Agriculture Ministry.
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