South Sulawesi to Export Meat in 2014

TEMPO Interactive, Makassar:The South Sulawesi government will become self-sufficient in meat by 2014. At the same year, the local government will also export meat to a number of meat supplying countries.

Murtala Ali, the South Sulawesi Livestock Office chief, said South Sulawesi is now ranked third on the list of meat producing provinces after East Java and Central Java. “Hopefully by 2014 at the latest, South Sulawesi can be dubbed Indonesia’s biggest meat supporter, in that it can export its meat to other countries,” he said yesterday.

The need for meat in South Sulawesi is around 578.000 tons per year. With the one-million-cow program in 2013, South Sulawesi is expected to produce 750.000 tons of meat per year, allowing it to cover meat demand in the province.

Prof. Zainal Baharuddin, the Agricultural Product Processing and Marketing Director General said Indonesia is still importing livestock products from European countries. The people’s dependency on livestock products, especially milk and meat, is very high. “We will try to reduce this dependency by increasing the local production in the cattle farming sector,” he said yesterday.

“I see that South Sulawesi is the most suitable and strategic area for cattle farming,” he added.

Murtala said the South Sulawesi government has developed cattle farming in some regencies and municipalities like Bone, Sinjai, Bulukumba, Bantaeng, Pinrang, Sidrap, Barru, Enrekang, Luwu Utara, and Luwu Timur. “The people and some companies have partnered with the government in developing animal breeding,” he said.

Teddy Sutiana, the CEO of PT Berdikari, a company in the cattle business in Sidrap, said his company needs government’s support such as guidance, supervision, and animal disease control. “I also hope that the yearlings from the government can be developed by the company first and the result of the breeding will later be spread around the community,” he said.

The provincial government has allocated Rp22,3 billion for the livestock sector per year. This amount was judged still inadequate because the livestock business requires a lot of funding in the production process and in animal disease management in order to reach the target. “Livestock development on artificial insemination and natural mating as well as disease management needs money. Anthrax disease, for instance, must immediately be handled because it could infect people,” Murtala said.


SYAMSUL MARLIN