Agriculture Ministry: Presidential Instruction on National Milk and Meat Production Acceleration Finalised to Boost Domestic Milk

The Ministry of Agriculture has stated that the draft Presidential Instruction (Inpres) on the Acceleration of National Milk and Meat Production (P2SDN) has been finalised as a basis for accelerating the increase in domestic fresh milk production and reducing import dependency. Director General of Livestock and Animal Health at the Ministry of Agriculture, Agung Suganda, said the regulation will soon be signed by the President to strengthen measures to accelerate the development of the national dairy industry. “Alhamdulillah, a few days ago the draft Presidential Instruction on the Acceleration of National Milk and Meat Production was finalised and, God willing, in the near future it will be signed by President Prabowo Subianto,” Agung said when confirmed in Jakarta on Monday. According to Agung, the Presidential Instruction will become the main foundation for accelerating the increase in national milk production through synergy across ministries, agencies, regional governments, business actors, and farmers. He explained that the government will also revise the national dairy roadmap to align with the new policy direction outlined in the Presidential Instruction. Currently, Indonesia is only able to produce around 1 million tonnes of milk per year, while national demand reaches approximately 4 million tonnes annually. This situation means national fresh milk production can only meet around 20 percent of domestic needs, while the remainder is still fulfilled through imports of milk powder equivalent. To address this gap, Agung continued, the Ministry of Agriculture, together with relevant ministries and agencies under the coordination of the Coordinating Ministry for Food Affairs, continues to strengthen various programmes to increase milk production. One of the main steps being taken is increasing national fresh milk production and productivity through sustainable genetic improvement of dairy cattle. The genetic improvement programme is carried out through artificial insemination and embryo transfer so that dairy cows are more adaptive to tropical climates and produce higher milk yields. In addition, the government is also optimising animal health and husbandry management to maintain the dairy cow population while increasing productivity following recovery from foot-and-mouth disease. The next effort is carried out through improved nutrition and feed management to ensure the nutritional needs of dairy cows are met so that milk production can increase optimally. The Ministry of Agriculture is also encouraging the downstream development of the dairy industry by utilising the market created by the free nutritious meal programme (MBG) in various regions. In this programme, kitchens providing nutritious food in milk-producing regions are required to include milk as part of the menu to expand the absorption of farmers’ production. Agung emphasised that the success of accelerating national milk production requires the support of all stakeholders as well as an increase in public milk consumption to strengthen the dairy industry towards Golden Indonesia 2045. “Of course, the Ministry of Agriculture cannot possibly work alone; it must involve other ministries and agencies so that the acceleration of national milk production increases further and faster,” said Agung. “And also, of course, support from associations, one of which is GKSI (Indonesian Milk Cooperative Association), the milk processing industry, all stakeholders, and especially the community,” Agung added.