Sustainable intensification of smallholder dairy farms in Indonesia: the contribution of manure management strategies

In line with the growth of population and income, the government of Indonesia intends to increase national milk production levels. However, smallholder dairy farms, being the backbone of the Indonesian milk industry, contribute to environmental problems through the emission of pollutants, such as greenhouse gases and eutrophying compounds, and through the use of scarce resources, such as land and fossil energy. Improper manure management is one of the main issues of concern, contributing to environmental problems. Therefore, there is an urgency to study how to increase milk production in a sustainable way in smallholder dairy systems.

This research aims to develop manure management strategies that contribute to sustainable intensification (SI) of smallholder dairy systems in Lembang, West Java. To this aim, we first assess the environmental impacts related to smallholder dairy production systems to gain insight into the current situation and to identify promising manure management strategies. In a second step, an experimental research will be conducted to analyse the environmental benefits of using various types of manure as fertiliser for the cultivation of elephant grass, being an important feed source for dairy cattle in Indonesia. In the third step, the impact of various manure management systems on nutrient flows and losses at animal, field and farm level will be assessed. In the fourth step, the environmental benefits of innovative manure management strategies will be quantified. As a final step, the willingness of smallholder dairy farmers to adopt potential manure management strategies will be explored and an economic analysis will be performed.