Unper and Unsil Team Creates MMB Innovation to Boost Sheep Productivity

The development of smallholder livestock businesses in Indonesia is hampered by feed efficiency and micronutrient adequacy issues. Responding to this problem, a cross-disciplinary community service team from Universitas Perjuangan Tasikmalaya (Unper) together with Universitas Siliwangi (Unsil) has introduced Mineral Molasses Block (MMB) technology to strengthen the nutrition and health of sheep.

The second-year Village Development Empowerment (PDB) grant programme from the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology (Kemendiktisaintek) is being carried out by assisting two rural partners, namely the Tunas Harapan Farmers Group (Poktan) and the Roay Lestari Women Farmers Group (KWT). The head of the community service team, Dwi Wijayanti, Ph.D., explained that smallholder sheep farming generally still relies on single forage feed without micronutrient supplementation.

Yet, she continued, the quality of fresh forage often fluctuates. “This nutritional imbalance condition triggers the phenomenon of hidden hunger in livestock. Physically, the sheep appear full because their rumen is full of fibre, but physiologically the animals experience acute deficiency of essential minerals and dissolved energy,” said Dwi in a press release in Jakarta on Tuesday (18/8/2026).

According to Dwi, as a result of nutritional deficiency, the growth rate of livestock becomes suboptimal. It also impacts reproductive efficiency, which is disrupted, and the sheep’s immune system declines. To overcome this problem, MMB is presented as a solid supplementary feed in the form of a lick block.