Ayomi Amindoni, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo is aiming for Indonesia to be self-sufficient in beef cattle in the next nine to 10 years, saying that all preparations needed to achieve that are "on the right track".
The President said Indonesia will be self-sufficient in the industry within six years as long it could provide 2 million to 3 million frozen sperms a year for cattle breeding. Meanwhile, an estimated additional three years was needed to make Indonesia self-sufficient in the downstream sector.
"What we are seeing here is the upstream process of cattle breeding in a long-term program that we expect to meet self-sufficiency in beef," he said during a visit to the Karya Anugrah Rumpin (KAR) cattle breeding farm in Bogor, West Java on Tuesday,.
Based on the government's calculation, Jokowi continued, the program must be cautiously maintained in a decade to make sure qualified cattle selected in the breeding program to be distributed both to industry and farmers.
Indonesia currently operates seven cattle-breeding farms that are located throughout the country, such as in West Sumatra, East Nusa Tenggara, Bogor in West Java and Pare-Pare in Central Sulawesi.
"Everything is on the right track. It takes consistency to do it [...] it is a long process, not instant. If we are consistent and do it constantly, we will be a self-sufficient country in beef," Jokowi said. (ags)