Farmers from the UPLAND Program in Pejawaran, Banjarnegara, Central Java, have finally received certification for export-ready sheep. This accomplishment aligns with the government's efforts, led by Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman, to boost exports of strategic agricultural commodities, including livestock, as part of the policy to make Indonesia the world's food barn by 2045. Minister Amran Sulaiman stated that there is still ample room for expanding the global market for sheep and goats. This is attributed not only to surplus production conditions but also to the international market's interest in Indonesian batur sheep due to their quality. The news brings joy to sheep farmers as the price per kilogram of batur sheep meat can be double that of regular sheep meat. This positive development follows collaboration between the UPLAND Project of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Institute of Research and Community Service (LPPM) at IPB University. Their adaptive research, involving crossbreeding between batur sheep and Australian dorper sheep, yielded satisfactory results.
One member of the farmer group in Banjarnegara, Ahmad Sayfullah, expressed happiness with the UPLAND Project's development of animal potential. The crossbreeding process produced high-quality sheep comparable to Wagyu beef. The farmers, organized into a cooperative group, aim to continuously enhance productivity to achieve high yields. The premium-quality meat exhibits low cholesterol, high unsaturated fatty acids, low fat, meat tenderness, and functional food with good mineral content. Beyond the high quality of the meat, the selling price of processed batur sheep meat is considerably high, reaching up to IDR 300,000 for a quarter-kilogram package. The UPLAND Project, in collaboration with LPPM, also conducted laboratory tests on sheep in farmers' flocks. The results revealed that some breeding sheep in the flocks are superior with robust Texel genes. Crossbreeding batur sheep resulted in lambs weighing 20.2 kg at 65 days old, above the average, indicating the production of high-weight sheep. The cooperative farm currently manages 92 female sheep and four male sheep, overseen by 120 members divided into six groups with 14 administrators. This significant development brings positive news for farmers, creating economic opportunities and improving the well-being of those involved in the production of batur sheep.
