REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Research, Technology and Higher Education Minister M. Nasir is conducting research on ways to improve cattle productivity and reduce cow imports by 15 to 20 percent.

"If we develop and apply the researched methods well, I believe we will be able to reduce cow imports by 15 to 20 percent in five years," Nasir remarked at the presidential office here on Monday.

Minister Nasir stated that he had conducted the research project using a sample of Bali cattle weighing an average of 250 kilograms and which can weigh up to 500 kilograms with a particular treatment.

But, he said, if the sample had involved Sumba cattle weighing 250 to 300 kilograms on average, the treatment could increase their weight to between 700 kilograms and one ton.

The minister added that the research had started in 2010 and was expected to be applied in the field in 2016.

The research was conducted in West Java, Central Java, East Java, Bali, West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, and Sulawesi, with promising results.

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