Indonesia has not yet achieved self-sufficiency in meeting domestic beef demand, thus still relying on imports from other countries.
Although the government has pursued efforts to increase the cattle population, success rates vary, creating regional disparities.
Environmental pressures, especially land conversion, which reduces natural feed availability, pose a serious threat to the sustainability of the domestic cattle population.
This was stated by Professor Asmarani Kusumawati, a lecturer at the Department of Reproduction and Obstetrics, in her inaugural speech for the position of Professor at the Senate Hall of Universitas Gadjah Mada on Tuesday (May 20).
Professor Kusumawati was inaugurated as a professor of molecular veterinary reproduction technology at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (FKH UGM).
This followed her inaugural speech,’ Molecular Veterinary Reproduction Technology for Strengthening Indonesia’s Food Security.’
Besides feed and environmental issues, one disturbance found in cattle in Indonesia is repeat breeding.
Repeat breeding in cattle can lead to low reproductive efficiency and productivity. This is characterized by a long calving interval, low conception rates, high service per conception, and suboptimal metabolic conditions.
“We found that factors influencing the incidence of repeat breeding include infrastructure, such as shed sanitation conditions, and farmer knowledge,” said Professor Kusumawati.
Post-partum reproductive disorders, such as increased leukocytes due to infection, are frequently found in daily cattle farming practices in the community.
Infectious diseases in livestock, such as brucellosis, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR), toxoplasmosis, foot and mouth diseases (FMD), and Jembrana disease, remain serious challenges in Indonesia.
These diseases not only disrupt livestock health but also reproductive organ function, for example, causing miscarriage, infertility, or premature birth.
“This results in significant economic losses due to decreased livestock productivity. Therefore, early and accurate detection is key to preventing disease spread,” stated Professor Kusumawati.
Together with her research group, Professor Kusumawati developed molecular and immunochemical detection methods to identify pathogens in livestock.
Nanoparticle technology emerges as a promising antigen delivery system approach for the development of vaccines for infectious diseases in livestock.
Their research shows that nanoparticle formulations based on chitosan, liposomes, and polylactic-co-glycolic acid can encapsulate and protect vaccine antigens while also increasing cellular uptake.
“Hopefully, the development of this method can be widely adopted by diagnostic laboratories, livestock agencies, and farmers in Indonesia,” concluded Professor Kusumawati.
The Head of the Board of Professors, Professor M. Baiquni, mentioned that Professor Kusumawati is one of 529 active professors at Universitas Gadjah Mada.
At the faculty level, she is one of 21 active professors out of a total of 33 professors ever held by FKH UGM.
Author: Tiefany
Editor: Gusti Grehenson
Post-editor: Afifudin Baliya
Photographer: Firsto