Sheep and Goat Farming Based on Energy Plantation

The need for food, especially animal protein, continues to increase along with population growth. Meat, especially from sheep and goats, is a source of animal protein that is a favorite of many people. It is estimated that the world's population will reach 10 billion in 2050 and especially Indonesia's population of 319 million in 2045. Greater Jakarta or Jabodetabek is the most densely populated area in Indonesia so that the need for food, especially animal protein, lamb and goat meat is getting bigger. Currently these areas bring in the needs of lamb and goat meat from Central Java, East Java and Lampung alternately depending on the availability of supplies for each area. This is because no single region is able to meet the needs of Jabodetabek alone. Or if these areas can always supply the needs of Jabodetabek on a regular basis then the business can continue to be sustainable and stable but of course it can overcome the obstacles in the sheep and goat business.

It turns out that a number of problems surround the sheep and goat business including the availability of seeds, breeding skills, availability of feed, marketing chain and so on. Simple things such as the availability of seeds. Although breeders in general have not used superior seeds, the availability of seeds is also a problem because many productive females are slaughtered. This is mainly due to the business competition factor, because the price of males is more expensive which makes female goats slaughtered even though this disrupts the sustainability of the livestock business. Aspaqin (Indonesian Aqiqah Entrepreneurs Association) noted that 63% of the female members were slaughtered from a total of 331,693 slaughtered tails. Of course there are still many who are not recorded because there are still many aqiqah entrepreneurs who are not members of the Aspaqin. In addition, there are also many restaurants for eating lamb dishes, such as satay that still slaughter productive female goats.

Of course it would also be better if the sheep and goat that became the seed was the preferred or superior sheep and goat so that the quantity and quality of meat was better. The feed-to-meat conversion factor in superior sheep and goat is also higher, making it more profitable. And this is mainly the responsibility of research institutions. Dorper sheep and Bohr goats are the superior types of sheep and goat. However, there is an easier way to maintain the sustainability of the sheep farm, namely by reducing or even prohibiting the slaughter of productive female sheep and goat. In this way, the continuity of sheep and goat seeds can be maintained and even more developed. To be able to realize this, of course, requires efforts from all parties. Providing incentives or sanctions can be done to support this.

The problem of skill of the breeder is also another obstacle. Most of the sheep and goat breeders are small farmers with traditional farming techniques. This makes it difficult when used to meet routine requests, especially large quantities. Modern farming patterns must be carried out to become a reliable livestock industry as the foundation of the livelihood of these farmers. Only with this effective pattern and efficient farming can be implemented. With good preparation supported by these skills, sheep and goats livestock industry players are able to carry out sheep and goat  farming intensively so that they are expected to be able to supply the meat needs.

Sheep and goats farming is not only an effort to fulfill food sources, especially animal protein in the form of meat and milk, it is also a part of perfecting Islamic law. The population that continues to increase means that Muslim babies born to their parents are ordered to perform aqiqah. In addition, the celebration of Eid al-Adha which is held every year also requires sheep and goats as a sacrificial animal. Sheep even as sacrificial animals have many advantages over other livestock even though they are both halal such as goats, camels and cows. In the verse (Qur’an 6:143-144), the eight pairs of animals (4 pairs) are two (pairs) of sheep, a pair of goats, a pair of camels and a pair of cows. Rules in the Qur'an, something that is mentioned first has precedence over what follows. Another indication of the virtue of sheep can also be found in the event of Qurban, namely when Prophet Ibrahim was ordered by Allah SWT to slaughter his son, Ismail, then by Allah SWT saved Ishmael and replaced him with a large sheep. Then we commemorate this event every year and become the law of Qurban on Eid al-Adha every 10 Dzulhijah.

The development of energy plantations, which is increasingly being echoed lately, with the main product in the form of wood for the production of biomass fuel, both wood chips and wood pellets, will also produce waste or by-product in the form of leaves. The leaves of calliandra or gliricidia are rich in protein content so they are very good as a source of animal feed for the sheep and goats. The number of leaves produced will also be very large so that the potential for sheep and goat farms to be developed will also be very large. Even to meet the needs of sheep and goat seeds, any import is allowed under current regulations. This can also be very similar to a large capacity beef cattle feedlot, where cow seed are imported from Australia, read here for more details. The focus of sheep and goat fattening can also be very effective and efficient or has advantages such as in beef cattle if it is carried out in Indonesia. Leaf waste from energy plantations can be a potential feed.

In addition to domestic consumption, sheep and goat can also be used as an export commodity. For domestic purposes such as qurban and aqiqah, generally small sheep and goats are used, which weighs around 25-35 kg. As for the export market, sheep and goats needs usually require a weight of 35 kg and above. The export market can be a separate segment and is also basically the choice of the farmer himself. Sheep and goat farmers from Indonesia have also exported sheep and goats to a number of countries including Malaysia, United Arab Emirates and Timor Leste as shown in the table above.