REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, MANOKWARI -- West Papua has beef surplus that is ready to be supplied to any other regions in the country, the provincial animal husbandry office said.
Head of the animal husbandry office Hendrikus Fatem said cow farming is one of major income earners in West Papua. Cow farms are found in various areas in the province, Fatem said here on Friday.
"Beef demand is small compared with supply. We are quite successful in the program to create self sufficiency in beef supply thanks to the wide availability of grazing fields and many farmers that are interested in raising cows," he said.
He said the price of beef is stable in West Papua at around Rp80,000 - Rp100,000 per kilogram.
West Papua, however, could not yet play the role of major supplier of beef to other regions especially export market as it has no modern and large slaughterhouse, he said.
West Papua could only supply live cows to neighboring province of Papua, he added.
He said cow farming centers in West Papua include the regencies of Fakfak, Sorong and Tambrauw. In the three districts areas, there are thousands of hectares of cow grazing fields.
"This year, the central government will launch program of making pregnant breeder cows (Siwab) and West Papua is one of the areas where the program is to be launched," he said.
West Papua will have a share of 11,000 breeder cows required to be made pregnant with artificial insemination and to deliver baby cows this year. Inventory of the cows is still underway.
Three district areas in West Papua where the program to be launched include Sorong, Manokwari and Fakfak, Fatem said.
Under the program, the government will import frozen semen. Breeder cows of farmers will be injected with the frozen semen.
The government has launched the program hoping to significantly reduce dependence on import for beef or live beef cows.
Indonesia is still heavily dependent on imports of beef cow and it imports the food commodity mainly from Australia and India, and other countries.
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