Livelihood impacts of the cattle management practices in mixed crop-livestock farming systems in South Sulawesi, Indonesia

Abstract

The research project to increase cattle production was conducted in South Sulawesi, Indonesia as a part of ACIAR funded projects in South Sulawesi (SMAR-2006-061). The project worked in 3 regencies: Bone, Barru and Gowa with four villages in each regency. Bali cattle (Bos javanicus) are a vital component of Indonesia’s crop-livestock farming systems. Improving Bali cattle productivity on these smallholdings is essential not only to the Indonesian Government’s beef self sufficiency targets, but also to improving the economic development of farmers living in these regions. However, smallholder farms in the region are usually sized less than two hectares in total; and comprise a mix of crop, forage, livestock and human activities. The aim of this research was to investigate the impact of the introduction of cattle management practices on household livelihoods. The result showed that these types of projects may contribute to improved livelihoods in the long-term, but unlikely to be visible in short term.