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Govt seeks to revive dairy industry on back of free meals program
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A worker milks a cow at the Bintang Tani dairy farm in Bogor regency, West Java, on Sept. 19, 2024. (Antara/Arif Firmansyah)
T
he government expects its free nutritious meals (MBG) program to boost demand for milk and is pushing dairy farmers to up their game in terms of quality and quantity.
“I am optimistic that the MBG program will provide the momentum to revive milk cooperatives. Let's work together to increase productivity, so that domestic demand can be met without relying on imports,” Cooperatives Minister Budi Arie Setiadi said during a visit to a milk producer in Bandung, West Java, on Friday, as quoted by news agency Antara.
He explained that the government was committed to buying milk in the domestic market, particularly from cooperatives, but also stressed the need for them to produce high-quality products at competitive prices.
However, Indonesian Dairy Cooperatives Association (GKSI) secretary Unang Sudarma said farmers faced several challenges in their efforts to improve the quality of their produce.
The main issue was maintaining freshness, which required chilled storage, he noted.
The cold chain infrastructure in many of Indonesia's rural regions is underdeveloped, posing a challenge for agricultural production and trade.
The sector was also struggling with slow workforce regeneration resulting from declining interest in farming among young people, many of whom favored corporate work, Unang said.
