Professor of the Faculty of Economics and Management (FEM) IPB University, Prof Alla Asmara voiced the urgency of productive waqf partnerships in the empowerment and regeneration of breeders.
“Collaboration in productive waqf partnerships will unite resources and expertise and encourage sustainable models for asset redistribution and benefit redistribution,” he explained in the Press Conference of Pre Scientific Oration of Professor of IPB University, Thursday (7/11).
He elaborated, in addition to increasing access to capital, the productive waqf partnership scheme also encourages collaboration between nazir, cooperatives, and breeders.
“This partnership can also support the regeneration of breeders, one of which is through an educational scholarship scheme so that it supports the 2025 Golden Indonesia Vision in realizing superior human resources (HR),” he said.
Prof Alla assessed that this strategy could be a solution to the problem faced by dairy cattle farming households, whose numbers have continued to decline by around 16 percent over the past decade.
“This reflects that the development of the smallholder dairy sector has not gone as expected. In fact, the contribution of small farmers accounts for 60 percent of the contribution of national milk production,” he added.
Not only that, Prof Alla added, the outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) has worsened the condition of farmer households. “At the household level, FMD causes direct losses for farmers, such as livestock deaths, forced slaughter, low price sales, and increased medical costs,” he explained.
The results of his research in West Java showed that more than 40 percent of small-scale farmers (ownership of 1-5 lactating cows) experienced losses due to livestock deaths. The loss amounted to around Rp22 million. On a large scale (owning more than 5 lactating cows), more than 50 percent of farmers lost their livestock due to cheap sale with a loss value of around Rp40 million.
Therefore, he emphasized the need for an integrated approach to household economy and capacity building of the farmer workforce, from upstream to downstream, involving all relevant stakeholders.
The role of cooperatives through improving service performance and strengthening institutional capacity also needs to be the focus of attention. “Cooperatives need to more intensively develop training and mentoring programs to encourage the improvement of breeders’ skills,” he said.
Not only that, Prof Alla also highlighted that the strengthening of cooperative institutions must also be encouraged. Especially related to organizational management, human resource competence, capital, member participation, product diversification, business partnerships, and technology adoption. (dh) (IAAS/RWA)
