Prof.Dr. Cece Sumantri: Indonesia Experienced the Scarcity of Buffalo
Every year it happened the decline in productivity of buffalo of three percents. The numbers of buffalo were at the moment only around 1.5 million heads. This was conveyed by Professor of Faculty of Animal Husbandry, Bogor Agricultural University (IPB), Prof.Dr Cece Sumantri, in the press conference of Pre Scientific Oration in the Meeting Room of Council of Trustees / Majelis Wali Amanah (MWA), Campus of IPB Baranangsiang, Thursday (23/4).
“The image of buffalo which has been negative (because at the time it is cut when it has been old so that the meat becomes tough) is influencing this decline, apart from because of loosing competition with the cow. This is one example of the condition of Indonesian farm,” he said.
According to him, there were some animals that had not been consumed optimally such as buffaloes and goats. On the other hand, Indonesia imported the meat amounted 68.44 percent per year to meet the domestic demand. “More troubling trend, for all milk and other dairy products, Indonesia is highly dependent on the import of which is 80 percent,” he added.
In 2013, the national meat demand was of 2,880,340 tons, 52 percent was including broiler, where seed and feed were imported. For non poultry, the demand reached 32.97 percent and 11.10 percent of the local chicken.
“Consumption of non poultry meat such as beef reaches approximately 23 percent, buffalo is 1 percent, goat is 3 percent and lamb is 2 percent. Therefore, the government needs to diversify the consumption of animal protein,” he explained.
In his speech which was read in Auditorium Andi Hakim Nasoetion, Campus of IPB Darmaga, Saturday (25/4), Prof. Cece said various animal products as very important sources of animal proteins for the formation of the generations of Indonesian nation which was healthy and smart, so as to enhance the nation’s competitiveness.
Prof. Cece said, the demand of national animal protein which was very large such as meat, milk, and eggs and other dairy products due to the rapid growth of population, increased the purchasing power, and increased the public awareness of nutrition. The condition caused the importation of live animals and farm products continued to be made in large quantities and continued to increase every year. In fact we had a wealth of genetic resources of native and local animals with abundant genetic diversity, but it had not been managed and put to good use.
“The importation policy with an increasing tendency carries the consequence of stability of the national food availability to become vulnerable because of its dependence on outside parties. The condition can become a threat in realizing the independence of national food,” he said.
Limitation of quality seed of the native and local animals was one of the factors that caused not the development of livestock agribusiness in Indonesia. Biotechnology of molecular genetics as one form of modern biotechnology which continued to experience rapid development could be used as one of the alternatives for genetic improvement, utilization, and conservation of native and local livestocks on the sustainable livestock production system.(zul)
