The Regulations of Agro-Silvopastoral for Farmed Animals' Wellbeing in Indonesia and Its Practices

Introduction

The livestock industry is currently dominated by the use of "gestation crates" and "CAFO" systems or Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, where these systems have many negative impacts on the ecosystem and the animals being farmed. First, clearing large areas of land for livestock certainly results in large carbon emissions from deforestation. Second, livestock on land that is not too large and a poor livestock manure management system can cause additional pollution to the land and air. Lastly, the placement of livestock in buildings without sunlight, cramped areas, and with little food rations makes them vulnerable to physical and mental health. The many negative impacts of the conventional agricultural industry on the environment and animals certainly raise the question of whether there is a livestock and agricultural system that is good for nature, livestock, as well as for humans themselves. So an agroforestry farming system is offered, one of the branches of which is the agro-silvopastoral system.

The agro-silvopastoral system is an agricultural and livestock system where forest land is used to farm forest crops, crops, garden crops, as well as livestock. This system was introduced as an alternative to monoculture and CAFO farming systems, which are known to improve environmental quality, livestock quality, and food security. Agro-silvopastoral systems have been proven to significantly improve animal welfare. In a study conducted by Stella Maris Huertas et al in 2021, it was discovered that cattle bred using the agro-silvopastoral system grew healthily and there were no signs of impaired welfare, such as lameness, integument alterations, coughing, nasal/ocular discharge, or inhibited respiration. These results are similar to cattle raised traditionally in the wild, with smaller land and less capital. And of course, it is better than cattle with a CAFO system, which causes cattle to become stressed and frustrated, making cattle susceptible to physical disease, and increasing the need for antibiotic injections.

The agro-silvopastoral system has great prospects in areas with large forest areas. Indonesia is one of the countries in Southeast Asia with a very large amount of forest. This article aims to determine how the government supports agro-silvopastoral practices through regulations and what examples of agro-silvopastoral practices have been carried out in Indonesia.

The Regulations of Agro-Silvopasture for Farmed Animals' Wellbeing in Indonesia and Its Practices

Indonesian regulations do not yet mention many details regarding agro-silvopasture, but there are many regulations regarding agro-forestry. Because the agro-silvopastoral system is part of the agro-forestry farming and livestock system, the regulatory analysis in this paper will use agro-forestry regulations as the legal umbrella for agro-silvopasture. Agro-silvopasture is a good agricultural and livestock system and has great prospects in Indonesia, because of the vast forests that Indonesia has.

Generally, forest use for agro-silvopastoral is covered by the Indonesian constitution, namely the 1945 Constitution. Article 33 of the Indonesian Constitution mentioned “Bumi dan air dan kekayaan alam yang terkandung di dalamnya dikuasai oleh negara dan dipergunakan untuk sebesar-besar kemakmuran rakyat”, which means “The earth and water and the natural resources contained therein are controlled by the state and used for the greatest prosperity of the people”. Thus, this principle becomes the basis for the utilization of resources, including forests, for the greatest possible progress of society.

Furthermore, detailed regulations regarding agroforestry are contained in one of the environmental ministerial regulations which is a follow-up to the "Social Forestry" management guidelines, namely Peraturan Menteri Lingkungan Hidup dan Kehutanan Republik Indonesia Nomor 9 Tahun 2021 Tentang Pengelolaan Perhutanan Sosial. In this arrangement, agroforestry can be organized by communities and/or indigenous communities in a "Social Forestry" system. In this law, “Social Forestry” is defined as “a forest management system sustainability implemented in state forest areas or Private Forest/Customary Forest implemented by Local Community or Customary Law Community as the main actor to improve welfare, environmental balance, and socio-cultural dynamics in the form of Village Forests, Community Forests, Community Plantation Forests, Forests Customary and forestry partnerships". It can be concluded that this "Social Forestry" system is implemented in Village Forest, Community Forest, Community Plantation Forest, and Customary Forest areas, and can also be implemented with forestry partnerships.

So this “Social Forestry” system is forest utilization activities carried out by Social Forestry groups through Management Agreements for Village Forest, Community Forest, Community Plantation Forest, forestry partnerships, and Customary Forests in Protected Forest areas, Production Forest areas, or Conservation Forest areas according to their function. This Social Forestry Management Approval can be given to individuals, forest farmer groups, or small-scale community businesses known as “Koperasi”. Lebih lanjut, di bagian awal, peraturan ini membahas mengenai teknis dan mekanisme perizinan untuk mendapatkan izin pengelolaan Perhutanan Sosial.

Then, the special article that grants permits regarding agroforestry and agro-silvopastoral practices in forests that have been granted Social Forestry management permits is in Article 119:

“(1) Pemanfaatan Hutan sebagaimana dimaksud dalam Pasal 113 ayat (1) huruf b pada areal kerja Persetujuan Pengelolaan Perhutanan Sosial meliputi: a. Pemanfaatan Hutan pada hutan lindung; dan b. Pemanfaatan Hutan pada hutan produksi.

(2) Pemanfaatan Hutan pada areal kerja Persetujuan Pengelolaan Perhutanan Sosial dapat dilaksanakan dengan pola agroforestry atau wana tani, silvopastura atau wana ternak, silvofishery atau wana mina, dan agrosilvopastura atau wana tani ternak sesuai dengan fungsi hutan dan jenis ruangnya.”

Meaning:

“(1) Forest Utilization as intended in Article 113 paragraph (1) letter b in the work area of the Social Forestry Management Agreement includes: a. Forest Utilization in protected forests; and b. Forest Utilization in Production Forests.

(2) Forest utilization in the work area of the Social Forestry Management Agreement can be implemented using the pattern of agroforestry or agroforestry, silvopastura or livestock farming, silvofishery or mina farming, and agrosilvopastura or livestock farming in accordance with the function of the forest and the type of space."

It can be seen from the regulations that have been mentioned that agro-silvopastoral practices have great prospects and are also supported by regulations through forest utilization permits. If some farmers want to start agro-silvopasture, they no longer need to buy their own land and do not need to clear land that produces carbon emissions, instead they can just get permission from the government to use state-owned forests to become farming land using agroforestry methods, especially agro-silvopasture.

The practice of agro-silvopastoral in Indonesia is not very famous, so only a few people do it. However, from many experiments, it can be seen from research that agro-silvopastoral can be carried out successfully and can provide good ecological and economic impacts for farmers and the animals they raise. In a research report conducted by Raizal Fahmi et al (2023), it was reported that the agro-silvopastoral system had been tried to be implemented in Jingkang Village, Tanjungmedar District, Sumedang Regency. This practice is carried out by the Faculty of Forestry, Winaya Mukti University, and the Yayasan Rimbawan Indonesia (YRI) in collaboration with local farmers. The results of the trial of agro-silvopastoral practices in Jingkang Village are that the community is very satisfied with the economic and ecological impacts carried out because there is no need to clear land and no need to look for feed for livestock because livestock can find their own food in the forest. The animals raised in Jingkang Village are sheep. Along with the trees and plants planted in the forest are sengon, calliandra, meranti, gmelina, ebony, bamboo, and agricultural plants such as banana, papaya, and coconut. Management of livestock waste becomes easy because sheep manure contains good minerals to be used as fertilizer to support soil fertility.

Other research conducted by Andre Tuhalauruw et al in 2021 also proves that agro-silvopastoral can be practiced successfully in Dusun Namaa Negeri Pelauw, Haruku Island, Central Maluku Regency. The combination used in agro-silvopasture in this village is forestry crops, agricultural crops, plantation crops, and livestock. The forestry plants planted include teak (tectona grandis), lenggua, ironwood, walnuts and gamal (Glirilicidia sipium). Apart from that, there are MPTS (multy dominant purpose tree species) such as durian (Durio zibethinus) and cempedak (Artocarpus intiger). The agricultural crops planted are tubers such as cassava, taro, petatas. There are also bananas, cocoa, mangoes, pineapples, coconuts, sago, and vegetables such as spinach, kale, mustard greens and tomatoes. Meanwhile, the livestock being bred are chickens, goats, cows, and geese. This agro-silvopastoral practice, according to the research, has been proven to have ecological impacts such as fertile soil that is not easily subject to erosion, as well as social impacts, namely the preservation of local wisdom in the community.

Conclusion

The agro-silvopastoral system is an alternative agricultural and livestock system that is environmentally friendly and proven to improve the welfare of livestock. This system has great prospects in areas with large forest areas. Indonesia is one of the countries in Southeast Asia with a very large amount of forest. So far, Indonesia has issued several regulations regarding the implementation of the agro-silvopastoral system. It can be seen that this system is actually supported by the government because farmers who want to use this system can obtain permits to farm and raise livestock in state-owned forests without having to buy land.

This regulation certainly benefits the government in terms of assistance for land restoration, sustainable agriculture, and food security, and also benefits farmers and consumers with food security, quality of products and livestock produced, and less land capital.

References:

1. Peraturan Menteri Lingkungan Hidup dan Kehutanan Republik Indonesia Nomor 9 Tahun 2021 Tentang Pengelolaan Kehutanan Sosial

2. Huertas, S. M., Bobadilla, P. E., Alcántara, I., Akkermans, E., & van Eerdenburg, F. J. C. M. (2021). Benefits of Silvopastoral Systems for Keeping Beef Cattle. Animals: an open access journal from MDPI, 11(4), 992. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11040992

3. Fahmi, R., Wilujeng, S., Susila, R., Luth, F., & Widodo, P. (2023). Implementasi Sistem Agrosilvopastura untuk Peningkatan Produktivitas dan Kesejahteraan Peternak Lokal. Abdi Wiralodra : Jurnal Pengabdian Kepada Masyarakat, 5(2), 270–283; https://doi.org/10.31943/abdi.v5i2.125

4. Ma'ruf, A. (2017). Agrosilvopastura sebagai sistem pertanian terencana menuju pertanian berkelanjutan. Bernas: Jurnal Penelitian Pertanian, 13(1), 81-90.

5. Tuhalauruw, A., Sahureka, M., & SEIPALLA, B. B. (2021). PENGELOLAAN AGROSILVOPASTURA DI DUSUN NAMAA NEGERI PELAUW PULAU HARUKU KABUPATEN MALUKU TENGAH. JURNAL HUTAN PULAU-PULAU KECIL, 5(2), 128-138.

This article is authored by Titis Fitriani, a student of the online course of Animal Law Fundamentals taught and supervised by Lu Shegay. The course was generously sponsored by the Food System Innovations.