"We, at the (agriculture) ministry, continue to support Indonesia to become self-reliant in animal protein."
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Agriculture Ministry is encouraging Indonesia to become self-reliant in animal protein production, an official said.

"We, at the (agriculture) ministry, continue to support Indonesia in becoming self-reliant in animal protein," Director General of Husbandry and Animal Health at the Agriculture Ministry I Ketut Diarmita said during a Farmer2Farmer 2019 event held in Jakarta on Friday.

Hopefully, our intake of animal protein would be derived not only from beef, but also from milk and animals such as chickens and sheep, he said.

Stating that domestic sheep have been exported to a number of countries, including Malaysia and the Middle Eastern countries, he said, "We aim to become a world food barn. Hence, breeders across Indonesia can play an important role."

He said the government has revised various regulations as part of its efforts to improve the welfare of breeders.

He further asked dairy farmers to refrain from complaining while increasing their milk productivity from 12 liters to 25 liters per day.

The Farmer2Farmer event serves to encourage dairy farmers to apply good dairy farming practices (GDFP) continuously and consistently.

The event's organizing committee will choose four of 110 farmers to visit dairy farms in the Netherlands and get a two-week intensive training from successful dairy farmers in July 2019.

The Farmer2Farmer program is expected to help the country meet the national demand for milk. The domestic milk production currently meets 20 percent of the national demand.



Translator: M Razi Rahman, Suharto
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Copyright © ANTARA 2019