Livestock and meat production in Indonesia
In terms of livestock population, goats and lambs make up the largest stocks. Pork is produced and consumed primarily by non-Muslims, who mainly live in Eastern Indonesian provinces such as Bali and East Nusa Tenggara. Besides beef cattle, the dairy cattle population has also been increasing significantly in the past few years due to the rising demand and consumption of dairy products. In general, Indonesia’s meat and milk production and consumption have been steadily increasing.Most cattle and goats in Indonesia were slaughtered by livestock traders in slaughterhouses. However, if the slaughterhouse is difficult to reach or has limited capacity, slaughter can be done outside the slaughterhouse. The number of beef cattle slaughtered outside of slaughterhouses usually rises during the festival of Eid al-Adha. More than one million sacrificial animals (qurban) such as sheep, goats, buffalo, and cattle are slaughtered for Eid al-Adha, hence, the festival has a significant impact on the supply of and demand for small ruminants in Indonesia.
Challenges in the Indonesian livestock sector
Despite the increasing demand and production, Indonesia's livestock industry still does not fully meet domestic demand. As the country with the world's largest Muslim population, meeting the demand for halal meat poses a challenge. According to the Halal Science Center of IPB University in Indonesia, halal services and facilities are still scarce in the archipelago. It was reported that more than 85 percent of Indonesian slaughterhouses lacked a halal certification or a halal slaughterer. Nevertheless, many Indonesians believe that official qurban animal distributors slaughtered the animals according to Islamic procedure.Additionally, the 17,000 islands that make up Indonesia's topography presented challenges for the logistics and distribution process. Indonesia continues to import packaged beef and live cattle from other countries. The country will probably not be self-sufficient in beef for the foreseeable future due to the expected rise in per-capita consumption as well as overall population growth.
Around 28 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector in Indonesia are produced by the livestock industry. It was expected to keep increasing due to the rise in livestock breeding, which is caused by the ongoing growth in meat consumption. The Indonesian government is aiming to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 31.8 percent by 2030 through two initiatives in response to this: converting the manure from about 166 thousand cows into biogas fuel, and supplementing the diets of about 8.07 million cows to reduce the amount of methane produced by their digestive systems. The government's policy is centered on managing animal manure and enteric fermentation as these are the main sources of emissions from the Indonesian livestock industry.
