JAKARTA: The government expects its free nutritious meals (MBG) programme to boost demand for milk and is pushing dairy farmers to up their game in terms of quality and quantity.

“I am optimistic that the MBG programme will provide the momentum to revive milk cooperatives,” Cooperatives Minister Budi Arie Setiadi was quoted as saying after a visit to a milk producer in Bandung, West Java.

“Let’s work together to increase productivity, so that domestic demand can be met without relying on imports.”

He said that the government was committed to buying milk from the domestic market, particularly from cooperatives, but also stressed the need for them to produce high quality products at competitive prices. Indonesian Dairy Cooperatives Association secretary Unang Sudarma said farmers faced several challenges in their efforts to improve the quality of their produce.

The main issue, he said, was maintaining freshness, which required chilled storage.

The cold chain infrastructure in many of Indonesia’s rural regions is underdeveloped, posing a challenge for agricultural production and trade.

The sector was also struggling with slow workforce regeneration resulting from declining interest in farming among young people, many of whom favoured the corporate world, Unang said.

He also pointed out the shortage of dairy cattle in the country, which significantly impacted milk production levels.

Sonny Effendhi, executive director of the Milk Processing Industry Association, told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday that the association supported the MBG programme, as it could improve nutrition in the country while increasing demand for milk – benefitting dairy farmers, milk producers and suppliers.

He suggested several measures to improve milk quality, including training farmers to implement good farming practices, providing hygienic milking buckets, cooling units and quality testing tools, offering interest free loans as working capital and supplying breed cows to raise the cattle population and farmers’ income.

PT Nawasena Satya Perkasa (NSP), even after publicly dumping tonnes of milk last week in a public display of protest against industry restrictions, said it supported the government initiative to supply free food for schoolchildren, breastfeeding mothers and pregnant women across the country.

“We strongly support the MBG programme, especially if it prioritises dairy cooperatives over corporations,” NSP director Bayu Aji Handayanto told The Post on Tuesday.

He added that the initiative should maximise the use of local milk rather than imports. He said the government should adopt rules to curb imports so as to protect domestic producers.

“Indonesia must strive for self-sufficiency by empowering dairy farmers in villages across the nation,” he said.

 - ANN