Chicken breeders told to work in partnership

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Agriculture Sjarifudin Baharsjah said yesterday that large-scale chicken breeders must establish partnerships with their smaller counterparts.

Baharsjah said here that by fostering partnerships, smaller chicken breeding operations can manage up to 60 percent of a company's total chicken population.

The need to establish partnership programs was stipulated in a June 17, 1996 ministerial decree on the guidelines for purebred- chicken breeding.

Baharsjah said that in the first year of partnership, in the third year of production, 20 percent of a large breeders' chickens must be managed by small-scale breeders.

In the second year of partnership, this proportion must reach 40 percent, and in the third year 60 percent.

According to the decree, the guidelines are aimed at companies involved in chicken-hatching and breeding. A chicken-breeding company is defined as one which owns more than 65,000 purebred broilers per production cycle or 45,000 purebred laying pullets.

A small-scale breeder is defined as one which has not more than 15,000 purebred broilers per production cycle or 10,000 purebred laying pullets.

Sjarifudin said yesterday that if companies do not abide by the guidelines, the government will impose penalties. "Their business licenses will be reconsidered," he warned.

He pointed out that large companies must show an effort to engage in partnerships after two years of operation, not after their operating licenses are issued, because many poultry businesses operate long before their licenses are issued.

Sjarifudin was quoted by Antara as saying that the new ruling has been discussed with the breeders' association. A partnership program should be formalized in a contract, thus putting it on a proper legal basis. (pwn)