JAKARTA, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia needs an additional 1.4 million dairy cows to achieve milk self-sufficiency, as the country's current dairy herd stands at only about 540,657 head, a senior agriculture official said on Tuesday.
Makmun, director of livestock product downstream at the Ministry of Agriculture, said Indonesia requires a dairy cow population of around 2 million head to meet domestic milk demand.
"If we want to achieve self-sufficiency, we need a dairy cow population of around 2 million," he told a press conference in Jakarta.
The estimate is based on current productivity levels of about 12.5 liters of milk per cow per day, according to data from Statistics Indonesia. Makmun said the required herd size could be reduced if productivity is improved. ■
