Thousands of WB cows disappear

Thousands of WB cows disappear

PALU, Central Sulawesi: At least 2,000 cows, raised by farmers
in Poso and Morowali regencies under a World Bank (WB) assistance
program, have reportedly disappeared over three years of
religious conflict since 1999, an official said on Saturday.

"As of 2003, not a single cow has been found from our field
survey," head of the Palu agriculture, plantation and poultry
office Abdul Rauf Toramai said.

Abdul Rauf said the 2,000 cows were of 6,500 cows provided by
a WB-sponsored program through the ministry of agriculture in
1995 to a number of regencies in the province.

"The cows were distributed to farmers groups under a
production sharing scheme, with the central government as the
owner," he said.

About 32,000 heads of families were displaced during the
sectarian conflict in Poso, which lasted from 1999 to 2002. --
Antara