Government pushes palm oil-cattle integration to cut beef imports

Deputy Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs Hanif Faisol Nurofiq is promoting integration of palm oil plantations with cattle farming as a way to close the national beef deficit. During an inspection of the Palm Oil-Cattle Integration System (SISKA) program at PT Buana Karya Bhakti, Satui District, Tanah Bumbu Regency, South Kalimantan, on Friday (19/6), Hanif said natural breeding in palm oil estates was more efficient and cheaper than artificial insemination. At the site, the cattle population rose from about 300 to nearly 1,500 on almost 16,000 hectares of land. He said that of about 480,000 hectares of palm oil plantations in South Kalimantan, 250,000 hectares were suitable for integration and could accommodate at least 20,000 cattle. The province needs 56,000-57,000 cattle, while production is only about 33,000. Nationally, Hanif estimated more than 17 million hectares of palm oil plantations could support around 1.3 million cattle.