Government through Governor of Bali, Made Mangku Pastika, has extended the status of emergency for Mt. Agung up to 26 October 2017 due to a number of reasons.
In response, Dean of Faculty of Animal Sciences UGM, Prof. Dr. Ali Agus, has initiated joint stations between UGM, Unud, ISPI, Gapuspindo, Persepsi, AINI, and FPPTPI, to help the government in securing cattle and giving direction on this effort.
“Activities can be developed into an action that can serve as long term investment,” said Ali on Wednesday (18/10).
Similarly, Bambang Suwignyo, Ph.D., the coordinator, said the adjustment comes in the form of educational activity. Students volunteers still collaborate with the cattle task force on evacuation matters and in synergy with Universitas Udayana to prepare long term shelf-life feeds, which is fermented and complete feed.
“We help provide complete feed based on paddy straw for the cattle impacted by the Mt. Agung volcanic activities,” said Bambang.
Complete feed, said Bambang, is more practical in technology, while palatability has been tested, it has also good nutrition and is affordable. Meanwhile, fermented feed can reduce damage potential due to long storage.
In this rescue, UGM volunteers collaborate with lecturers and students of Universitas Udayana. The feed is fermented in plastic bag for easy mobilisation to impacted areas. Centre of production is held in Ngis village, Karangasem district. This time Faculty of Animal Sciences UGM sends logistics in the form of probiotics to process the fermented feed as well as anti-stress minerals and supplements.
“Going forward, fermentation will be done in the cattle barns involving the breeders,” he said.
Bambang added by engaging the breeders it would give knowledge to them so that they can prepare it themselves and prevent them from going to the danger zone to get feed.
”Hopefully, the feed making activity can be a 3-in-1 activity, which is cattle culling, feed provision, and disaster risk reduction,” Bambang concluded.