Export of Sheep and Animal Feed Pellets to Algeria

Algeria plans to import up to 1 million sheep to meet the needs of Eid al-Adha. This is because domestic demand is large while domestic supply is insufficient. This is because in recent years there has been a drought, which has resulted in a shortage of animal feed and an increase in feed costs. And because animal feed is a major component in the livestock sector, the shortage of feed and the increase in feed costs will have a major impact on the sheep products that produce meat. The price of sheep and lamb meat has become very high. By choosing to import in large quantities, the government aims to overcome the shortage of supply in the market and suppress the sharp increase in livestock prices.

Indonesia has the opportunity to become an exporter of these sheep. As long as feed is available, sheep farming will not experience significant obstacles. These sheep feeds can be attempted in many places in Indonesia, even with a tropical climate, producing sheep feed should not be difficult. Moreover, currently a number of energy plantations have been created with these energy plantation plants also producing animal feed from their leaves such as calliandra and gliricidia. The area of ​​these energy plantations which reaches tens of thousands of hectares will also produce a lot of sheep feed. It is also possible to export feed pellets in the form of these leaf pellets, and while the wood from these energy plantations is used for the production of wood pellets. 

Source : Hidayatullah

 

Selecting Sheep Species for Animal Husbandry

In general, there are two ideal types of sheep, namely the meat type and the wool type. The type of wool sheep is currently not in demand by breeders in Indonesia. This is probably because meat production is still a top priority and Indonesia's tropical climate is not suitable for wearing wool. Based on these conditions, the selection of meat sheep is more suitable for Indonesian conditions. Moreover, coupled with the demand for meat in Indonesia that has not been met. The demand for lamb meat for aqiqah and satay stalls/restaurants is still largely unfulfilled. In addition, the need for Eid al-Adha which is celebrated by Muslims every year can double. The need for exports is no less large, even reaching millions of head each year, such as during the Hajj season for the dam it is estimated that the need will reach 2 million heads.

Southdown sheep

Sheep of the meat or slaughter type have the following characteristics: dense body shape, wide and deep chest, short neck, and straight back and waist lines. In addition, it also has short legs and the whole body is densely muscled. Some of the sheep that belong to the meat type include Southdown, Hampshire and Oxford. Indonesian native sheep cannot be classified into one of the ideal types of the two types above. Even so, sheep in Indonesia generally tend to the type of slaughter or meat. Several sheep are considered native to Indonesia because they have long been cultivated in Indonesia, namely the thin-tailed sheep, fat-tailed sheep, Garut sheep, Wonosobo sheep (dombos) and Batur sheep.

Dorper sheep

Improvement of genetic quality to increase livestock productivity is also carried out through crossbreeding, for example Suffmer sheep resulting from crossing Merino sheep and Suffolk sheep, then St Croix sheep resulting from crossing West African sheep with local sheep in the Virginia islands in the United States, then Katahdin sheep the result of crossing 3 types of sheep namely St. Croix with Suffolk and Shire sheep. And the popular sheep in Indonesia recently namely Dorper is a cross between the Black Head Persian sheep and the Dorset Horn sheep.

Sheep and goats, although they are quite similar, are actually (species) different. A number of regions in Indonesia have a favorite menu of sheep while other areas have goats. The Special Region of Yogyakarta is an area that has a favorite menu of lamb meat, and you can find lots of stalls or restaurants serving lamb dishes, especially satay. Uniquely in Yogyakarta, even though the name of the stall reads goat satay, the fact is that what is slaughtered or used is lamb. Meanwhile, in areas that are developing Bali cattle breeding, sheep cannot be kept or are prohibited from being raised for fear of Jembrana disease. Areas such as the provinces of South Kalimantan and East Kalimantan are examples of areas where sheep farming is prohibited because it breeds Bali cattle.

Large-scale sheep farming has been carried out in Europe and this should also be done in Indonesia. Integrating sheep farms with energy plantations is a surefire way to create these massive sheep farms. Wood from energy plantations will be a wood pellet product with an export orientation. According to Hawkins Wright's data, from 2020-'21, the demand for wood pellets for the global industry grew by 18.4%, with production only growing 8.4%, especially now with the disappearance of Russia whose volume reached nearly 3 million tons, more details can be read here. While the leaves are used for animal feed, especially sheep farming or it can also be processed into animal feed products such as feed pellets. With the global population predicted to reach 9 billion people in 2050, the need for food, especially protein such as meat, is also increasing as the population increases. Sheep farming and animal feed production are very important as part of fulfilling this food, especially protein, for more details can be read here.

Sheep Goat Livestock or Insect Livestock?

According to the United Nations, the global population is predicted to reach 9 billion people by 2050. The food sector is looking for a solution to the protein deficit due to per capita protein demand and population growth. Insects are a source of protein that is promoted in both feed and food. The nine billion people who are predicted to live on planet Earth in 2050, need an additional 250 million tons of protein per year, an increase of 50% compared to today. And according to the FAO, crickets need 6 times less feed than cattle, four times less than sheep, and twice less than pigs and broilers to produce the same amount of protein. A number of insect breeding companies have sprung up, especially in Europe for the production of protein from these insects, and there has even been an organization specifically formed for this, namely IPIFF (International Platform of Insects for Food and Feed). About a third of the production of these insects is for food and two-thirds for protein sources of feed. Will we Muslims be raising insects instead of sheep for protein sources? As Muslims, we shouldn't have to eat crickets to get protein intake as is widely promoted in the west. The types of insects permitted to be bred by the European Commission for this purpose include only 7 species of insects, namely 3 types of crickets, 2 types of caterpillars and 2 types of flies. We choose halal Thaiban, namely mutton and lamb.

Consumption of goat-lamb meat per capita in Indonesia is still very low, which is less than 1 kg per year and this could be only during Eid al-Adha or Eid al-Qurban. Of course this is very concerning, so its consumption needs to be increased. Even though this lamb meat is the best meat and the Prophet Muhammad liked it. Protein is one of the important elements for human food and more specifically lamb and goat meat as a source of protein has its own advantages, for more details read here. In a hadith the Prophet Muhammad SAW also ordered his people to keep these sheep because of blessings. These goats and sheep are closely related to the Muslim worship practices, namely aqiqah and qurban which are part of Islamic law (shariah) until the Day of Judgment, so that raising sheep and goats also has many virtues.

"Take care (use) by you goats because in them are blessings." [HR Ahmad]

"No prophet was sent except that he shepherded the goats. The friends ask, are you too?". He replied, "Yes, I used to herd the goats of the residents of Mecca for a few qirath wages." [HR. Al Bukhari, no. 2262] 

Abu Hurairah r.a. said: "Once served to the Prophet Shallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam a bowl of porridge and meat. So he took part of the arm (of the meat), and that part was most liked by the Prophet Muhammad Shallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam." (HR. Muslim)

Abu Hurairah radhiyallahu 'anhu narrated, "The Prophet Shallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam was served meat. The leg (of that meat or thigh) was given to Him. The Prophet Shallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam liked it, so he took a bite of the meat." (HR. Bukhari and Muslim)

With the development of energy plantations or legume plantations, sheep and goat farming can be increasingly encouraged. The main problem in the form of feed availability and more specifically the source of feed protein becomes easy to overcome. Thus, large capacity farms are also very likely to be developed, because the demand for goat and sheep meat is also very large. In addition, Indonesia's palm oil plantation area which reaches 15 million hectares is also potential for livestock, especially sheep, for more details read here. From this it can be concluded that in anticipation of the population growth, Muslims should be serious about raising these goats - sheep.