Beef production is a major industry in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) and, given the high rate of poverty, future development of the industry has the potential to significantly contribute to poverty reduction. This report outlines the potential of the NTT beef industry, the main value chain issues and options for possible interventions to improve smallholder returns. The author details numerous opportunities for improved productivity and development of the beef industry given the strong demand for NTT beef, established trading systems and the potential for expansion of grazing land area.

This reports presents a profile of the beef and live cattle industries in Indonesia, including production, food marketing channels and distribution, meat processing and the retail sector, consumer trends, and live cattle and beef imports. Research involved collection and analysis of secondary information and interviews with value chain participants in 2010.

Bali cattle is one of the four existing indigenous cattle breeds in Indonesia. This article reviews cattle characteristics and husbandry methods in the country with a special focus on the importance of Bali cattle. The study shows that indigenous cattle are an important and integral component of the small landholder cattle production system, which is essentially 'organic' in nature and the most sustainable system.

One of the major constraints to improving livestock production of Bali cattle is the quantity and quality of available animal feed. Improving feed quality by introducing higher quality forages can go a long way towards removing some of those constraints. This report provides an overview and analysis of six ACIAR-funded forage research projects in Indonesia, focused on increasing the adoption of productivity-improving technologies to enhance the incomes and livelihoods of crop-livestock smallholders in eastern Indonesia.

Limited information exists about the growth of young Bali calves under local feeding strategies which are likely to be adopted by farmers. In this article, the authors examine a range of diets designed to increase the growth rate of young Bali cattle and develop practical feeding strategies to complement weaning in order to improve cattle production systems of smallholder farmers in Central Sulawesi. Three experiments were conducted to determine liveweight gain and feed and water intake of weaned Bali cattle offered a range of feed types.

This article describes and analyses the marketing practices and constraints of beef cattle producers in lowland and upland sites in East Java as part of a study to improve the reproductive performance of cows and the performance of fattening cattle in low input systems in Indonesia. The research uses data gathered from a survey of 184 smallholder cattle producers and 30 cattle traders in 2010. The study found that most farmers sold to village collectors, who mostly paid in cash. Subsequent marketing costs and risks were therefore borne by the traders.

In this article, Mahendri et al. describe and analyse the movement of beef cattle from small-scale producers to consumers in East Java, the province with the highest share of cattle population in Indonesia and a large proportion of beef consumers. Research was carried out in five districts in 2010-11, involving small-scale producers, cattle growers, traders, butchers, and representatives from traditional district markets, slaughterhouses and supermarkets.

This article examines feeding management practices of smallholder producers at two sites in East Java—lowland and upland—in order to assess the potential for improving beef cattle production based on the availability of local feed resources. The research uses data gathered from a survey of 184 farmers in 2010, focusing on household and farm characteristics, cattle numbers, cropping patterns, and feeding practices, especially with regard to rice straw.

This report presents the results of an ACIAR-funded research project that provides a comparative analysis of the beef supply chain through benchmarking to inform future activities in the beef sector. It covers the supply chain of beef products from on-farm cattle production to the consumer in four regions of eastern Indonesia (East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi and East Java) and Jakarta.

The authors, researchers at the University of Mataram, examine the current conditions of livestock production systems in Lombok and Sumbawa to aid understanding of farmers' ability to adapt to changes in land use, socio-economic and agro-climatic conditions. They look specifically at the distribution and richness of species in different ecological sub-regions, as well as dynamics, drivers of change and potential future impacts.