POULTRYINDONESIA, Bogor — The government’s efforts to increase animal protein consumption through various programs, including the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program, are deemed to require simultaneous reinforcement in absorbing farmers’ production yields. This comes as live chicken prices at the farm-gate level remain below the cost of production.

The Secretary-General of the National Association of Chicken Farmers Organizations (GOPAN), Sugeng Wahyudi, stated that this condition leaves broiler farmers continuously facing operational pressures. According to him, the current issues grabbing attention in the poultry sector are not only experienced by egg poultry farmers but also by broiler farmers.

In an interview with Poultry Indonesia in Bogor on Tuesday (June 24), Sugeng revealed that the field price for live birds is still far below the production cost, which sits at around IDR 20,500/kg.

“With current prices, farmers are still selling chickens below their production costs. This condition naturally inflicts substantial losses and impacts the business sustainability of smallholder farmers,” he said.

He assessed that the imbalance between supply and demand remains the primary factor suppressing live chicken prices. This phenomenon, according to him, is not a new issue as it recurs almost every year.

On the other hand, Sugeng sees opportunities that can be leveraged to strengthen the national poultry market. Government programs aimed at boosting public protein consumption are viewed as potential key instruments for absorbing farmers’ yields, provided they are integrated with the poultry sector.

“While the government is pushing to increase protein consumption through the MBG program, there should be greater room to absorb the yields of domestic farmers,” he noted.

In addition to strengthening market absorption, Sugeng also highlighted the importance of implementing existing regulations. One such measure is optimizing Ministry of Agriculture Regulation (Permentan) Number 10 of 2024, which governs the trading structure of poultry and poultry products.

According to him, managing marketing through chicken slaughterhouses (RPA) could serve as an instrument to establish a healthier trading system while simultaneously reducing pressure on the live chicken market.

“Permentan 10/2024 needs to be optimally executed by all parties. With the mechanisms stipulated in that regulation, smallholder farmers will have a better opportunity to market their yields according to their capacity,” he explained.

Sugeng added that integrated corporations or business entities that already possess processing facilities and supporting infrastructure should maximize the function of their RPAs. By doing so, the entirety of chicken production would not be dumped into the market in live form.

This step is considered helpful in alleviating supply pressure in the live bird market while encouraging the development of poultry products with higher added value.

Moving forward, farmers hope the government can strengthen the synergy between protein consumption enhancement programs and the absorption of national poultry yields. Furthermore, supply and demand balance along with consistent regulatory enforcement are seen as the keys to maintaining the business sustainability of smallholder farmers.

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