East Kalimantan Inaugurates IDR 8.3 Billion Animal Feed Plant to Boost Food Security
Kurai Kartanegara (ANTARA) - The Loleng Village Joint Production House (RPB) for animal feed is ready to supply affordable, high-quality feed in East Kalimantan to reduce production costs for local livestock and fish farmers.
The Governor of East Kalimantan, Rudy Mas’ud, stated in Kutai Kartanegara on Friday that this RPB carries a major mission to strengthen regional food security and boost profit margins for businesses in the livestock and fisheries sectors.
“I sincerely hope this RPB can serve as a food security solution, particularly in the provision of livestock feed and aquaculture supplies such as floating pellets,” said Rudy Mas’ud after inaugurating the Loleng Village Animal Feed RPB in Kota Bangun, Kutai Kartanegara.
One of the key advantages offered by the Loleng Village RPB is its commitment to competitive pricing. Governor Rudy aims for the products from this RPB to be 20 to 30 per cent cheaper than similar products currently circulating in the market.
To achieve maximum efficiency, the Governor has instructed an operational system where machine usage is rotated periodically between two types of production: during the first two weeks, the machines will focus on producing livestock feed, while in the following two weeks, they will shift to producing fish feed (floating pellets).
Currently, the Governor explained, the RPB’s production level has only reached 10 per cent, or approximately 20 tonnes, of its total maximum capacity of 200 tonnes per month.
“The East Kalimantan Provincial Government ensures it will continue to monitor these operational developments. If market absorption is high and production quantity continues to increase, the Provincial Government is committed to adding new machine units to the facility,” explained Rudy Mas’ud.
In addition to focusing on the welfare of farmers and fishermen, the presence of this RPB is also projected to support the national strategic programme, the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) Programme.
With the availability of cheap and high-quality feed, the productivity of chicken and fish in East Kalimantan is expected to surge. The resulting abundant harvests will eventually be allocated to meet the protein raw material supply needs for the MBG programme in the East Kalimantan region.
The Head of the East Kalimantan Industry, Trade, Cooperatives, and SMEs Office (Disperindagkop), Heni Purwaningsih, explained that this strategic project was built using the 2025 East Kalimantan Regional Budget (APBD) with a total investment reaching IDR 8.3 billion.
In detail, the budget is allocated to two main sectors: Physical Building Construction at IDR 6.2 billion and the Procurement of RPB Tools and Machinery at IDR 2.1 billion.
The factory stands on a substantial area of 10,566 square metres. Loleng Village was chosen because it is considered highly strategic and possesses excellent accessibility to the availability of local raw materials.
To produce high-quality feed, the RPB will utilise various abundant potential raw materials in the surrounding area, including maize, palm kernel cake, Crude Palm Oil (CPO), fish meal, and shrimp head meal.
Through the synergistic use of local raw materials, the presence of the Loleng RPB is expected to not only create new jobs for local residents but also trigger accelerated industrialisation at the regional level.