UGM Researchers Study Sustainable Buffalo Farming as Population Falls

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Faculty of Animal Sciences at Gadjah Mada University (UGM) is currently developing a sustainable buffalo production system to help prevent the declining buffalo population in the country. Professor Tri Satya Mastuti Widi, a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Animal Sciences UGM, stated that buffaloes are a strategic livestock species that support national food security. "Through meat and milk production, providing agricultural labor, as well as social and cultural value," she said in a written statement on Tuesday, January 6, 2026.

The research on sustainable buffalo production based on local wisdom, named Buffalo for Indonesia (KuI), was conducted from May to November 2024. The research locations were spread across traditional buffalo centers, namely Gayo Buffalo in Gayo Lues Regency, Aceh; Tapanuli Buffalo in Toba and Samosir Regencies, North Sumatra, and Kalang Buffalo in North Hulu Sungai and South Hulu Sungai Regencies, South Kalimantan.

In the research conducted by UGM in collaboration with Malikussaleh University, University of North Sumatra, and Lambung Mangkurat University, researchers delved into the causes of the decline in the buffalo population. Over the past two decades, the national buffalo population has been more than halved, from around 2.4 million in the early 2000s to approximately 1.1 million in 2022. This trend is uniform across all buffalo production centers.

Vitri, as Tri Satya Mastuti Widi is familiarly called, stated that the declining buffalo population is attributed to low productivity, weaknesses in traditional rearing systems, and land use changes. Other reasons include conflicts in land use, as well as weaknesses in livestock institutions. "If not handled systematically, buffaloes could face further marginalization," she said.

In South Kalimantan, for example, Kalang buffaloes help maintain the balance of wetland ecosystems and wetland conservation. But land use changes threaten the sustainability of this system.

This research employed a holistic and integrated approach by assessing three dimensions of sustainability, namely economy, ecology, and social affairs. Analysis was conducted at various levels of the production system, ranging from livestock, farmers, to the regions.

Vitri stated that the team analyzed the genetic diversity and phenotypic characteristics of buffaloes, and developed a sustainable buffalo production system in South Kalimantan. They also assessed the sustainability of production systems in Gayo, Tapanuli, and Kalang buffaloes, and strived to transform the production systems of Gayo and Kalang buffaloes towards more sustainable patterns.

According to the Public Relations Officer of the Faculty of Animal Sciences at UGM, Satria Ardhi Nugraha, this research has produced a number of designs and scenarios for the livestock farming of buffalo. Recommendations are aimed at ramping up productivity, environmental preservation, as well as strengthening the social and cultural role of buffaloes in each region.

"To date, research related to buffaloes, especially in Gayo, Tapanuli, and South Kalimantan, is still ongoing with the application of modeling or scenarios for sustainable buffalo farming systems," Satria said.

Read: Indonesia to Import 280,000 Tons Beef, Buffalo Meat as FMD Disrupts Supply Ahead of Ramadan

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