Five UGM students joined in the Student Creativity Program of Entrepreneurship group started a business named as Kambro (Kampong-Broiler) chicken which is marketed under the Yamku Rombe brand. In addition to the chicken’s high quality, the students initiated the marketing of Kambro chicken to lower the import dependency of chicken meat, eggs, and Day Old Chick (DOC).
“Kambro chicken or F1 Broiler chicken has excellent characteristics obtained from breeders. In the long run, this chicken industry is expected to lower the import dependency of chicken meat, eggs, and Day Old Chick, especially broiler chicken,” explained I Wayan Swarautama Mahardhika, one of the PKM members.
Besides Wayan, the four other students joining the group are Desiana Afifah, Faridatul Hidzroh, Nugroho Nofriarno, and Burhan Amirudien. The widely-marketed chicken is a hybrid from crossbred Kambro chickens that produce F2 Broiler with the same quality as its breeders.
The name Kambro itself refers to the hybrid chicken from the crossing of Pelung Blirik Hitam chicken with Cobb 500 broiler chicken, as cultivated by Gama Chicken from the Faculty of Biology UGM. Wayan explained Kambro chicken has better growth because it can weigh up to 1,175.02 grams in 7 weeks, and it has a better ratio of femur and tibia compared to broiler and Pelung chicken.
Moreover, the feed conversion ratio (FCR) of Kambro chicken is only 1.48. It means that chicken breeders need 1.48 kg of animal feed in order to produce 1 kg of meat. As a comparison, the FCR of 7-week-old CP 707 broiler chicken is 1.93 kg for 2.715 g of body weight. Meanwhile, 10-week-old free-range chicken fed with 20% of protein content has a FCR of 2.27, while 22% of protein results in FCR of 2.19.
He added that poultry commodities, especially chicken, have good sales prospects because they are in great demand in Indonesia. However, in year 2011-2015, the balance of trade for day old chicken and local chicken meat experienced a deficit due to a relatively higher volume of imports in comparison to exports.
To expand the marketing, the students have cooperated with Biology Student Cooperatives (KOPMA BIOGAMMA), Burjo Sawargi, and Plaza Agro Gadjah Mada. The marketing was done through distribution of leaflet, stickers, and publication in both online and print media. In addition to achieving sales target, marketing and publication are also aimed to educate and create community awareness regarding the abundance of Indonesian germplasm, such as poultry germplasm.