S Kalimantan to synergize livestock and plantation

Pelaihari, S Kalimantan (Antaranews Kalsel) - The provincial government of South Kalimantan sets its sight on Tanah Laut District to develop animal husbandry on its way to be one of the national livestock center. 


Governor's Expert Staff for Government, Law and Politics Gusti Burhanuddin in Pelaihari Thursday said the potential of South Kalimantan as a center for animal husbandry was wide open. It has land which is quite potential for the development of livestock, especially cattle and buffaloes.

Tanah Laut, he said, is a center for cattle and buffalo farms in South Kalimantan and has the potential to be further developed in the future because it dominates 64 percent of potential land for livestock development in the province.

To realize this determination, he said, the government implements a Special Mandatory Cattle Breeding Program (Upsus Siwab) in Sumber Mulya Village, Pelaihari, Tanah Laut.

The development of the livestock area is sought to synergize with the plantations. "Through Upsus Siwab we will develop farms in synergy with plantations, so they can drive the economy of the community," he said at the commemoration of 61st Plantation Day, Thursday (13/12)  in Sumber Mulya Village.

The program, he added, was specifically carried out in South Kalimantan's rural areas, such as in Sumber Mulya Village.

Gusti revealed that the government would make the livestock sector a more promising new economic growth center, in order the younger generation would be interested in pursuing the sector.

"I am worried, at this time, there are symptoms that young people are reluctant to engage in the livestock sector," he said concernedly.

The young generation, he said, has begun to be uninterested in the world of entrepreneurship in the fields of plantations and livestock. If that happens, he added, it will be difficult to realize South Kalimantan as a national livestock barn while supporting the central policy towards self-sufficiency in meat.