Sarawak is focusing On Integrated Cattle Farming

06/06/2014 (Bernama) - In an effort to increase the cattle population, the Sarawak government is focusing on cattle integration in oil palm plantations, said Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem.

He said of Sarawak's over 1.0 million hectares of land under oil palm, some 400,000 hectares are suitable for cattle integration projects, yet only about 80,000 hectares are used for this purpose, with only about 10,500 heads of cattle in oil palm estates.

"Assuming that five hectares can support one head of adult cattle for one year, oil palm plantations in Sarawak have the potential to support more than 80,000 heads of cattle.

"If all oil palm plantations practise this integrated farming, maybe Sarawak can be a net exporter of beef," he said in his speech, read by Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Alfred Jabu Numpang, when opening the 1st Asean Regional Conference on Animal Production here Thursday.

Adenan said this system of production has associated problems such as labour cost, forage production and soil compaction, but these can be solved with the presence of brilliant scientists and agriculturists in Malaysia.

He said growing grain crops for feed may not be feasible when land is limited, but agricultural wastes may be an option, adding that the by-products from palm oil mills and other agricultural activities can be converted to animal feed.

Adenan said the state's livestock industry is growing in line with the federal government's livestock development strategies, pointing out that the state is self-sufficient in poultry and swine products, with quite a number of large poultry broiler and layer farms around Kuching, Sibu and Miri.

Sarawak's poultry and swine industries are well developed and do not depend much on government support, although the state still imports beef, milk and milk products as well as live animals for breeding, he said.

Adenan said the government has embarked on programmes to increase the goat population through schemes involving smallholders, adding the state, being free of foot and mouth disease, rabies and avian influenza, has the potential to be a centre for animal breeding and production in Malaysia.

Malaysia Can Become Self Sufficient In Milk In Five Years - Ahmad Shabery

KENINGAU, Dec 29 (Bernama) -- A good production system and some investment is all that Malaysia needs to be self-sufficient in milk within five years, says Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek.

"The target is within our reach but it requires a little investment by the government, the commitment of producers and suitable location," he told reporters after visiting the Evergreen Livestock dairy farm in Kampung Bomboi near here today.

Malaysia is dependent on New Zealand and Australia for its suppply of fresh milk, and imports about 20 million litres of milk annually.

Ahmad Shabery said Malaysia could produce 30 million litres of milk per year if the number of dairy cows could be increased by 10,000 heads.

"This calls for the government to make an investment amounting to RM200 million, including infrastructure. "What has been achieved here in Keningau is remarkable. It's not about the money but about the experience and the commitment."

Other than the need for more producers, he said the logistics system should be developed so that milk produced in Sabah could reach the peninsula in one day.

Shabery said the dairy farming model in Sabah, especially in Keningau, had been proven a success.

"The Sabah Government should also focus on the production of meat because dairy cows can also provide meat," he added.

Local meat producers can only meet 30 per cent of the country's demand for meat while the rest is imported.

-- BERNAMA