REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BADUNG -- Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman is working to make Indonesia self-sufficient in beef production by intensifying the development of cow breeding centers in three eastern Indonesian provinces.
"I have a dream of making the provinces of Bali, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) and West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) beef suppliers for the Asian region," the minister said when conducting a working visit to Cemagi village, Mengwi subdistrict, Badung District, Bali, on Friday.
He said that in order to carry out his plan, the government has provided assistance in the form of frozen sperm from Limousin cows.
Limousin cows are slaughtered after two years when they weigh 600 kg.
Badung District Head Anak Agung Gde Agung added that the regional government has developed a cow breeding center for Bali cows in Sobangan village, Ngawi subdistrict.
The government earlier set a target to make Indonesia self-sufficient in beef by 2014.
However, due to the decline in its cattle population, Indonesia, which consumes about 550 thousand tons of meat per year, has not reached the target.
In the past several years, the government, through the Directorate General of Animal Husbandry, set a target that by 2014 Indonesia should have produce enough meat to meet its domestic needs.
However, Indonesia's cattle population in 2013 was lower than in 2012, which stood at about 16.4 million. As of October 2013, Indonesia's cattle population fell to 14.2 million.
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