"The government will take steps to overcome the FMD outbreak; apart from vaccination, we will also provide compensation for dead animals so that there will be no more losses to farmers," he informed at the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) office in Jakarta on Tuesday.
To check the spread of FMD, the government has distributed 620,700 doses of the FMD vaccine in 19 provinces affected by the outbreak and Breeding Technical Service Units (UPTs) as of June 23, 2022.
The 19 provinces are Aceh, South Sumatra, North Sumatra, West Sumatra, Jambi, Riau, Lampung, Bangka Belitung, Banten, Yogyakarta, Central Java, East Java, West Nusa Tenggara, West Java, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, Bengkulu, and Jakarta.
However, the outbreak has led to an increase in the selling price of meat, including sacrificial animals for Eid al-Adha, which will be observed in July 2022.
According to secretary of the Indonesian Meat Traders Association (APDI), Jakarta, the average price of live sacrificial cattle is currently ranging between Rp63 thousand–Rp73 thousand per kilogram. In comparison, the price was just Rp58 thousand–Rp63 thousand per kilogram in 2021.
Meanwhile, in terms of weight, cattle weighing 250–300 kg are being sold for Rp17 million–20 million per head, an increase from Rp14 million–16.5 million in 2021.
"If one region runs out of sacrificial livestock due to FMD, the government will handle the shortage by bringing healthy sacrificial livestock from other regions. We will also continue to check the price," Amin informed.
Price problems have also occurred due to the implementation of regional lockdowns in FMD red zones, or provinces with more than 50 percent sub-districts affected by the outbreak.
To overcome the outbreak, the government has also implemented a "ring vaccination" strategy, which involves determining vaccination areas within a radius of 1 km, 3 km, and 10 km outside the outbreak point. This is aimed at preventing the vaccination of animals that have been infected but are still in the incubation period.
Related news: Government expedites FMD handling in livestock ahead of Eid al-Adha
The strategy seeks to protect vulnerable animals of high economic value and longer production lives, such as breeding cows and dairy cattle, and limit the movement of animals to other regions.
The FMD vaccination was first rolled out on June 14 in East Java and was followed by another vaccination drive in Sukoharjo district, Central Java, on June 20, and in Sumedang district, West Java.
On June 24, vaccinations were conducted simultaneously at 10 breeding UPTs, dairy cattle village unit cooperatives (KUD), and smallholder farms rearing dairy cattle and beef cattle.
Related news: Bogor records 20-percent hike in prices of sacrificial animals: Office
Translator: Desca Lidya N, Resinta S
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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