Robotics and virtual fencing are taking the Australian dairy industry into the next age, but farmers in Indonesia are still milking cows by hand or with small machines.
But on a farm 60 kilometres south of Jakarta in West Java, an Australian government program is supporting entrepreneurial farmers to expand and innovate to reduce the country’s reliance on imports.
Ma’mur M. Komara and his wife Eneng “Neng” Maesaroh started with four cows in 2001 and now have 41 cattle, including 12 milking cows.
They also manage a separate partnership farm with 16 milkers.
Most of their milking cows came from Australia via an Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) funded project called Indo Dairy 1.
The $2 million program aims to increase Indonesia’s milk supply by 25 per cent and boost farmer incomes for 3,000 dairy producers in West Java and North Sumatra.
An additional $3.7 million in ACIAR funding for a follow-up program, Indo Dairy 2 supports village level milk co-operatives, to continue to improve farmers’ livelihoods.
Ma’Mur Komara’s son Aditya Noufal feeds the calves on their farm at Tajurhalang. (ABC Rural: Emma Field)
‘Learn, and learn again’
When the ABC visited Mr Ma’mur and Ms Eneng’s farm after a wet-season storm, the winding roads leading to the property had been turned into gushing rivers.
But the couple remained positive about their efforts to create something new.
Ms Eneng makes mozzarella cheese, yoghurt and pasteurises milk onsite.
“I also want to learn more about making other types of cheeses, particularly cheddar and cream cheese,” Neng said via an interpreter.
Eneng Maesaroh makes cheese and yoghurt in a dairy production room on the farm. (ABC Rural: Emma Field)
Mr Ma’mur said the secret to expanding his business was simple.
“Learn and learn again,” he said.
This has been the guiding principle of his business.
Since 2011 Mr Ma’mur has hosted a dairy producer discussion group and in 2019 started a dairy management school for farmers attended by 48 locals, teaching dairy cow nutrition and hygienic milking.
Dairy cows are milked by hand or with mobile production units in West Java. (ABC Rural: Emma Field)
Reducing reliance on imports
The Indonesian government has bold plans to achieve food sufficiency.
This year it lifted its food security budget by 45 per cent, but the UN’s World Food Program says about 12 per cent of Indonesia’s population still faces food insecurity.
Professor Sahara Sahara, project coordinator with IPB University in Bogor, said dairy was important “to improve the nutrition for the Indonesian people”.
“In Indonesia, domestic production can only fulfil about 20 per cent of domestic demands,” she said.
“It means we still rely on imports.”
Sahara Sahara says an increase in dairy production helps with nutrition and increases farm incomes. (ABC Rural: Emma Field)
The demand for dairy in Indonesia, the fourth most populous country in the world, jumped after President Prabowo Subianto’s introduced the school meals program, which includes milk.
The program started last year and by 2029 aims to feed about 82 million people, including pregnant women and lower socio-economic populations as well as schoolchildren.
“In West Java the majority of milk products produced by the smallholder farmers, and the milk processor will pay [for] milk based on the quality,” Professor Sahara said.
“So we focus on how to improve the milk quality among the smallholder farmers … and increase incomes.”
Greenfields is Indonesia’s largest producer of fresh milk, but the country still imports nearly 80 per cent of its dairy products. (ABC Rural: Emma Field)
Village researchers the key to farmer education
Five university-trained were embedded in dairy communities to run dairy discussion groups, train farmers and conduct on-farm monitoring of milk, feed quality and cow health.
One of the researchers, Attin Syahnurotin is now involved in the Australian dairy program.
She lived in Tajur Halang, close to the Komara family farm, where she held dairy women discussion groups, and measured outcomes.
“I take a sample for milk … to give to the researchers in government, then we will analyse,” Ms Attin said.
She spent a lot of time with farmers to “listen to what the problems are and everything about the dairy business”.
“And every day I meet with the cows and look for the green grass,” Ms Attin said.
“It’s so fun for me, but also I learn many things from the smallholder farmers.”
She said she had seen milk production and herds increase since 2018.
Attin Syahnurotin (left) runs dairy training sessions with women, including Mrs Martini. (ABC Rural: Emma Field)
Foot-and-mouth outbreak recovery
Indonesia’s foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in 2022 resulted in mass deaths and cattle eradication programs.
The outbreak cost the Indonesian economy about IDR 9.9 trillion (or $6.6 billion in US dollars) and put Australian authorities on high alert.
Muhamad Yunus’s family’s 17 dairy cows all died during the outbreak and he was only able to buy one replacement cow with the government compensation payment.
He participated in a feed trial with the Indo Dairy program, which almost doubled his milk production from 8 to 14 litres a day. His artificial insemination reproduction rates also improved.
“I understand if I give the good quality feed to the cows, it will impact the production but also the reproduction,” Mr Muhamad said via an interpreter.
Now he has two milking cows, two heifers and one bull.
“I started with one cow and I am expanding my business, I’m satisfied and fulfilled to be a dairy farmer again,” Mr Muhamad said.
Muhamad Yunus is slowly recovering from the FMD outbreak. (ABC Rural: Emma Field)
Women prioritised for training
Ms Attin said tailored training helped many women on Indonesian dairy farms who were involved with milking or other parts of the business.
“The discussion group is useful because I’m getting knowledge and information during the activities, like cleaning the udder and preventing mastitis,” farmer Mrs Martini said.
She was much more comfortable asking questions in an all-female group.
When asked what it meant to her for an Australian program to help fund the training, she became emotional.
“During Indo Dairy project the farmer and the woman get equal attention,” Mrs Martini said.
Australian cows have been sent to Indonesia to help rebuild the country’s dairy herd. (ABC Rural: Emma Field)
Australian commitment to Indonesian food security
Indonesia is Australia’s most valuable dairy export market in South-East Asia and was worth $302 million in 2024-25.
The trade of dairy heifers from Australia to Indonesia is also high.
ACIAR chief executive Wendy Umberger said it was important that Australia supported Indonesia’s efforts to increase dairy production.
“We’re committed to helping Indonesia grow its domestic supply and increasing the availability of safe, high-quality, nutrient-dense food that will enhance human nutrition and improve farmer livelihoods,” she said.
Ma’mur M. Komara, Eneng Maesaroh and their children on their dairy farm. (ABC Rural: Emma Field)
Ma’mur and Neng Komara say the Australian program has helped them plan their next steps.
“We are now already applying the knowledge which will help us increase our livelihoods,” Mr Ma’mur said.
“We are trying to open up a shop, like a cafe. Hopefully my daughter will manage that,” Ms Eneng said.
Emma Field interviews Sahara Sahara in Bogor. (ABC Rural: Emma Field)
ABC reporter Emma Field travelled to Indonesia as part of the Crawford Fund journalism scholarship, with support from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Australia Centre.