Increase Cattle and Buffalo Populations with Sikomandan

To meet the ever-increasing per capita meat consumption year by year, the Ministry of Agriculture launched the Sikomandan Program in early 2020. Sikomandan, or Sapi Kerbau Komoditas Andalan Negeri (National Flagship Cattle and Buffalo Commodity), is a continuation of the Special Effort to Accelerate the Population of Pregnant Cows and Buffaloes (Upsus Siwab).

At the launch of the Sikomandan Program, Minister of Agriculture Syahrul Yasin Limpo stated that the public's meat consumption would reach 700,000 tons per year. Indonesia's production capacity, however, is only 300,000 tons per year. Therefore, Syahrul Yasin is optimistic that the Sikomandan Program will be a breakthrough to meet the demand for meat consumption without the need for imports from other countries.

The Sikomandan Program aims to sustainably increase the population and production of cattle and buffalo through Artificial Insemination (AI). The hope is that the birth rate of calves and buffalo calves will increase each year, thus continuously increasing the cattle and buffalo population.

The cumulative population of cattle and buffalo has been fluctuating since 2017, when the first period of the Upsus Siwab Program was implemented. Last year, preliminary figures showed an increase in the cattle and buffalo population to 18.82 million head. This year, 2020, when the Sikomandan Program was launched, the population is projected to increase further to 20 million head.