Ref: Sapi kurus kering bukan karena mereka kurang makanan dan lapar, tetapi mereka mogok makan. hehehehe
http://www.smh.com.au/world/indonesians-left-unheard-as-cattle-industry-goes-hungry-20121109-293aj.html Indonesians left unheard as cattle industry goes hungry Date November 10, 2012 a.. Michael Bachelard Challenges … the impoverished Indonesian island of Sumba is still hoping Australian companies will invest in its cattle industry. Photo: Ilana Rose CATTLE on the island of Sumba, Indonesia's most impoverished region, are burdened by many crucial social functions - they carry tradition, family pride, money and, of course meat on their backs. But when the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, and the Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, agreed in Darwin in July to encourage Australian agricultural companies to ''invest in the Indonesian beef and cattle industry'', the burden of these beasts grew heavier still. The Indonesian side pinned on them the hope that Australian money and knowledge would provide desperately needed economic development to an island in which nearly 40 per cent of five-year-olds are underweight. Ms Gillard no doubt hoped Australian goodwill on livestock to Sumba might be a diplomatic win, encouraging Indonesia to relent on the punishing import quotas that are debilitating the north Australian live cattle trade. Advertisement All these expectations, however, have so far come to nought. While the Taiwanese company Biofarm Plantation is measuring out the cheap hectares on its new East Sumba investment, not a single Australian beef producer has yet visited the island to check it out. ''There is enough land, so much empty land,'' the regional leader of the dirt-poor province, Gidion Mbilijora, said. ''President SBY strongly hinted when he came directly here from Darwin [after the meeting with Ms Gillard] that Australian investors would follow. They have not.'' Mr Mbilijora firmly believes in the potential for a booming livestock industry in Sumba. ''It is very big,'' he says. The need is certainly huge. A preschool teacher, Femmy, says in the dry season her students often come to class hungry because their families have no food. Many must grub in the forest for sweet potatoes. But the challenges, also, are enormous. Since the rolling hills of this island were denuded of their cover of fragrant sandalwood trees hundreds of years ago, the topsoil has been washing away. Driving along its high ridges you see the island's bare bones: piles of volcanic rocks exposed as the soil blows and washes downhill into the valleys. Much of the sparse vegetation is blackened, the result of ''scorched earth'' farming, in which grass is burned each dry season to encourage new green shoots. Horses, cattle and goats pick their way among the rocks and scorch marks, looking for fresh nourishment. Rainfall is lower here than in most parts of Indonesia. It is adequate, but there is very little water storage, so children and women must fetch and carry it. Mr Mbilijora is confident, though, that there is enough good land, goodwill and potential to sustain thousands or tens of thousands of head of cattle. ''There is 400,000 hectares of basically pasture land … it shouldn't be too much of an issue in handling a larger investment,'' he said. ''Maybe companies from Australia worry that it will take too long for a return on investment.'' Joni, 20, a cattle herder in the hilltop village of Napu, would like to see a bigger industry. ''It is good land,'' he says. ''Sometimes in the dry season the cows are skinny, but they don't die.'' Joni dropped out of school at 15 to work herding 50 head of cattle owned by a local farmer. His great hope is that, when one has a calf, his boss might give it to him. As things stand in Sumba at the moment, it is the only thing that will help Joni start building some wealth of his own. Michael Bachelard travelled to Sumba as a guest of World Vision. Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/indonesians-left-unheard-as-cattle-industry-goes-hungry-20121109-293aj.html#ixzz2BlyiRL89 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
