Our SISKA partners have been involved in several industry and government webinars to disseminate their experiences running SISKA enterprises. The events provide an opportunity to ensure interested stakeholders are aware of both the opportunities and the challenges. An IACCB-organised webinar involved the DG Livestock and the DG Estates in MoA who are very supportive of efforts to expand the SISKA-model as a strategy for optimising land productivity and increase cattle numbers. These events also provided an opportunity to inform oil palm industry bodies, such as the Indonesian Oil Palm Association, of opportunities regarding SISKA.
PT Cahaya Abadi Petani (PT CAP), our Open Grazing partner located in South Kalimantan, has been reluctant to cull less productive cows to maintain herd numbers which impacted calving rates severely. Late weaning, due to deficiencies in infrastructure, contributed to long calving intervals and weaning rates, impacting commercial viability.
Marketing BX cattle encounters different dynamics in different regions in Indonesia. Our partner Koperasi Petani Ternak Maju Sejahtera (KPT-MS) in Lampung benefits from the pong0term experience of stakeholders in the sector with BX-cattle. Cattle traders and butchers have decades of experience with processing BX cattle and BX cattle fetch higher prices than local cattle. Our partner in Bojonegoro, Sentra Peternakan Rakyat Mega Jaya (SPR-MJ), on the other hand, encounters an environment where BX cattle are relatively new, and traders do not provide premium prices as the market prefers local or cross-bred, with Limousin and Simmental Cattle.
PT Superindo Utama Jaya (SUJ), in Lampung Province is expanding its cattle infrastructure, with another 160 calving pens, enabling the stockmen to separate highly pregnant cattle for calving. Heifers and calves remain in the pens for a couple of weeks to ensure low calf mortality rates.