Milk production decreases 30--40 percent, affected by FMD

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Cow milk production has decreased by 30–40 percent since the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) broke out in Indonesia, based on data from the Association of Indonesian Dairy Cooperatives (GKSI).

Deputy chairman of the permanent commission for livestock at the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) has said that dairy farmers have been the most affected by the FMD outbreak because it greatly affects livestock health and milk production.

FMD-infected dairy cows experience a drastic decrease in milk production, or even stop producing milk, he explained at a webinar on FMD, which was organized by the Center for Agricultural Food Studies and Advocacy (Pataka) here on Friday.

In addition, dairy cows infected with FMD are unable to stand because of the illness.

According to him, dairy cows that contract FMD are mostly slaughtered because they stop producing milk. GKSI data showed that cow milk production has decreased by 30–40 percent.

However, Noor said, FMD data reported on the government's official website, siagapmk.id, is smaller than the actual data in the field.

For example, GKSI data has shown that as of June 22, 2022, at least 1,601 dairy cows have died due to FMD and 2,852 heads of cattle have been slaughtered in East Java, Central Java, and West Java, he informed.

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Meanwhile, data from the Ministry of Agriculture as of June 22 has shown that nationally, 1,499 heads of cattle have died due to FMD and 2,460 have been slaughtered.

The difference in data occurred because not all livestock suspected of FMD infection were reported to the government by the farmers, he said.

Noor noted that the current situation of FMD is similar to the situation at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia, when detecting positive cases took a long time.

As part of the effort to curb the spread of FMD in Indonesia, the Ministry of Agriculture rolled out its FMD vaccination program for livestock from Sidoarjo district, East Java, on June 14.

Vaccine doses are being prioritized for healthy animals that are at high risk of infection, such as animals at livestock breeding centers, community-owned dairy farms, dairy cooperatives, and beef cattle farms.

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