Jakarta, January 21, 2020 - As a company that provides nutrition for mothers and children, Danone through PT Sarihusada Generasi Mahardika (Sarihusada) has committed to support the government in providing optimal nutrition for Indonesian mothers and children. This is done not only through the provision of quality nutritional products but also by implementing various support programs, one of which is the Milk Quality Improvement program that has been implemented since 1991 which aims to encourage farmers to produce milk with better quality so that they can contribute to improving the welfare of local communities.
Although the level of consumption of Indonesian milk is among the lowest in ASEAN, on the other hand market needs increase from year to year. However, it turns out, the increased demand for milk is apparently not in line with the supply from local farmers due to inadequate quantity and quality. With a growth in cow's milk consumption of five percent per year, local cow milk production only increases by two percent per year 1, and even then with varying quality ranges.
Through the Milk Quality Improvement program, Danone encourages the improvement of the quality of fresh milk through three approaches, namely by assisting the implementation of good farming practices and good manufacturing practices, increasing the knowledge of farmers and providing assistance in facilities, infrastructure and pilot projects.
"The big challenge for farmers is quality that is not yet acceptable to the industry. For that reason, one of the successes of our program today is through the application of good farming practices and good manufacturing practices in several fostered farmers. As a result they are now able to produce fresh milk with a much better quality, with a trend that the number of germs has continued to decline, which in the last seven years has been below 1 million cfu / ml, "explained Baruno Tirto, Cycle & Procurement Manager of Fresh Milk, Sarihusada.
Various dairy-based food and beverage retailers and entrepreneurs now buy fresh milk directly in Sarihusada-assisted cooperatives because they have low germ counts, and high fat levels. "Every day breeders deposit an average of 3800 liters of milk in our cooperative, and the amount is always used up due to high demand. In fact, we often cannot fulfill orders from local entrepreneurs, "explained Esti as manager of KJUB Puspetasari's dairy.
Retnawati, one of the breeders from Cangkringan, said that the benefits received from the Milk Quality Improvement program are that cattle farmers are healthier and more productive, and use water and feed more efficiently. "Through the breeders campus activities, we learned how to raise cattle effectively and hygienically, make nutritious feed, a good cage system to the use of automatic water installations that succeeded in making us save water usage by 30-50%."
In addition to the Milk Quality Improvement program, Danone - Sarihusada also collaborated with various parties in the Merapi Project which is a support project for farmers affected by the eruption and eruption of Mount Merapi. Through continuous and integrated assistance, Sarihusada has succeeded in returning the supply of fresh milk from farmers and developing dairy cattle and savings and credit cooperatives which at the end of 2018 have been able to distribute loan funds up to Rp. 4.6 billion involving more than 655 beneficiaries.
"Efforts to improve the welfare of smallholder farmers is a long journey and needed support from various parties. We appreciate the efforts made by Sarihusada and Gadjah Mada University that continuously assist farmers to get better economic opportunities, "said Harjanto as Head of the Animal Husbandry District of Sleman.
