Unlocking Potential: How SISKA created a symbiotic partnership
between Farmers and Companies on Palm Oil Plantations
Kalimantan is the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo,
the third largest island in the world. In South Kalimantan
cattle herding remains integral to local farmer livelihoods.
However, the smallholder cattle breeders face the
challenge of tracking and managing their cattle, resulting
in cow and calf losses.
“The cows used to graze on community land outside the
palm plantation. They walked anywhere they wanted, so we
often had difficulty finding them. Often, we needed to hire
locals to catch them, and it could cost us more than AU$95
per person per cow. So, in addition to wasting a lot of time,
we also had to pay a lot of money.” - Thalib, a cattle breeder
from Jorong Maju Cluster.
Thalib’s story is not uncommon and represents
a snapshot of the shared problems faced by other cattle
breeders in the province. SISKA has helped many of these
farmers overcome their challenges. SISKA is an innovative
model which brings together palm oil companies and
smallholder farmers to form a mutually benefiting
commercial partnership, or ‘cluster’, to manage cattle
within palm oil plantations.
Thalib (green t-shirt) and farmers from Jorong Maju Cluster on their daily
task of monitoring their cattle herds (Photo: The Partnership).
Jorong Maju is a cluster in South Kalimantan that is
successfully implementing SISKA. They and other SISKA
clusters have been supported by the SISKA Supporting
Program (SSP) that is funded by the Indonesia Australia
Partnership on Food Security in the Red Meat and Cattle
Sector.
Jorong Maju Cluster members monitor the cattle grazing (Photo:
The Partnership).
Since 2021, the SSP has supported provincial
governments in four provinces to develop their own
SISKA sectors. To date SSP has supported the
development of 22 clusters in South Kalimantan, 13 in
West Kalimantan, 8 in East Kalimantan and 7 in Riau that
support the livelihoods of 800 smallholder farmers who
managing 6,800 cattle.
SSP’s predecessor, the Indonesia Australia Commercial
Cattle Breeding program (2016 to 2021), proved that the
SISKA model was commercially viable, and as a result
offered an opportunity to expand cattle breeding within
suitable areas of oil palm plantations. Oil palm currently
covers 16 million ha. of Indonesia, so the growth
opportunities for SISKA are very large.
In driving the expansion of SISKA, the SSP focuses on
supporting the establishment of SISKA partnerships or
clusters, capacity building to develop a SISKA workforce,
and promoting private and public sector partnerships
through advocacy by the SISKA Actors and Observers
Association (GAPENSISKA).
SISKA required rotational cattle grazing from one
designated area of a palm plantation to another. Cattle
return to areas previously grazed once the understory
grasses have regrown. Each area is surrounded by a
portable electric fence and cattle movement is dictated
by a schedule agreed between the farmers and oil palm
managers.
“Now, it is easier and more efficient for us to monitor our 80
cattle. We can quickly identify if a calf is born. Previously, it
took up to a week to count the total number of cattle
because we had to search a very wide area. With the electric
fences we save a lot of time and costs.” - Thalib.
Kebun Tengah in Tanah Laut District is a SISKA cluster that
manages more than 80 cattle and has 27 members, 18 of
whom are palm oil company employees.
GMK and Kebun Tengah Cluster members installing an electric fence (Photo:
The Partnership).
Mulyadi Hasan, the head of Kebun Tengah cluster,
highlighted the financial benefits for farmer members
from implementing the SISKA model.
“The rotational grazing system with an electric fence makes it
easier for us to control our cattle herds. We are now saving
fuel costs needed to monitor cattle and time and energy. Also
our cow’s dung and urine are helping fertilize the palm oil
trees. Our cattle is an investment for us. We plan to sell some
next year for the Eid al-Adha where demand and cattle price
is always the highest.” – Mulyadi Hasan, head of Kebun
Tengah Cluster.
The rotational grazing model has also reduced
conflict between companies and farmers. Previously,
farmers could be subject to large fines when cattle
damaged young palm trees.
For more information on SISKA click here:
www.gapensiska.org | www.siskaforum.org
Email: info@siskaforum.org | gapensiska@gmail.com | info@gapensiska.org
The positive impact of SISKA is acknowledged by
participating companies, including Gawi Makmur
Kalimantan (GMK) which partners with two clusters with
27 smallholder farmers who manage 150 cattle.
Mulyadi Hasan, Head of Kebun Tengah Cluster, (second from left) and
Surahman, Head of Lembu Jaya Makmur Cluster, (second from right)
monitoring the cattle grazing with GMK representatives (third from right)
(Photo: The Partnership).
“SISKA has been great for GMK. It has helped protect our palm
oil trees when cattle are grazing and has reduced our costs by
reducing our herbicide use by AU$ 15-19 per hectare. It has
also allowed us to diversify GMK business from just palm oil.
For next year’s Eid al-Adha we are encouraging our
employees to buy the cattle from the clusters. GMK will also
buy some cattle for the Eid al-Adha celebrations. We keep
working with farmer clusters to encourage other farmers to
join the clusters as we have seen a mutually benefiting
relationship from SISKA. Farmers are able to manage their
cattle and cows more efficiently and their farming systems
are better structured, while the company’s palm oil trees are
protected.” - Suwito, GMK Kebun Tengah Area Estate
Manager
For more information on SISKA, watch
https://bit.ly/IACCB-SISKAModel
www.redmeatcattlepartnership.org
+62 21 2283 6028 @IAredmeatcattle @IAredmeatcattle
@IA.redmeatcattle @IAredmeatcattle IAredmeatcattle