The art of butchery
I have been working as a veterinary consultant for a couple of oil palm plantations in the east coast. I am glad to have had a chance to acquaint myself with Professor Dahlan Ismail, a proponent of cattle production under oil palm plantation in Malaysia.
In 1989, Dahlan had estimated that oil palm plantations can raise about 500,000 cattle. The stocking rate is between 0.46 animal/ha to 0.9 animal/ha depending on the age of the palms. I am recommending a stocking rate at 0.5 animal/ha or 1 animal/2 ha.
Dahlan stated in his thesis that the agro-climatological conditions of Malaysia happen to favour the cultivation of tree crops such as rubber, oil palm, cocoa and coconut rather than annual crops.
As more and more lands are taken up by the export crops, it is also inevitable that there will be less and less suitable land left over for the expanded production of food crops and livestock. Despite the rapid rate of industrialization, agriculture will continue to be the source of rural employment and of export earnings, as well as supplier of food for the populace. There has to be a systematic and efficient management of land resources for increasing agricultural productivity at farm levels, and for conserving forest resources for future generation.
Dahlan said it is the nation’s duty to her citizens to ensure her growing population has ready access to reasonably cheap and nutritious food in the required amount. Perhaps, integrating livestock, especially ruminants, with export crops or tree crops plantation, notably oil palm, rubber and coconut, will solve some of the problems of land use for food production.
Cattle integration with oil palm plantation is the most ideal production system for cattle and causes no significant problem to the crop, except when introduced to a very young oil palm (at age below two years) which can cause damage to the young leaves, and too high stocking rate which may cause soil compaction and leads to a drop in oil palm fruit production.
Many major oil palm plantations in Sabah have heeded the call by the government to go into cattle production. During the Barisan Nasional era, the government had called on all oil palm plantations to excise at least 10% of their land for food production.
It is shown that cattle can be raised under oil palm. The abundance of Palm Kennel Cake (PKC) in Sabah is a blessing. The oil palm fronds are considered an all-year round feed for cattle. This integration helps to reduce or eliminate employment of workers to do weeding, and the reduction in the use of weedkillers.
While the oil palm plantations are increasing their stocks, it is important that the government looks at the marketing of these live animals. The local beef market needs to be improved by providing efficient abattoirs or slaughter houses and to encourage the setting up of many more butchery outlets. The import of frozen beef, however, is hampering the growth of this sector.
I met Ahmad Johari of Butchery Trading and Consultancy through my classmate, Dr Mazlan Mohammad. I call him Master Butcher Johari, and from his website, he has been travelling to give seminars on the art of butchery. We discussed and agreed that, as a starter, he can do a oneday seminar in Sandakan. The seminar was conducted on April 25, 2019 at Livingston Hotel, organised by Sabah Veterinary Supplies and Companion Animal Clinic with 60 participants in attendance.
I am thankful to Kretam Holdings Berhad (KHB) for being the major sponsor of the event. KHB has few thousand heads of cattle and about 400 buffaloes. The latter is to provide draft buffaloes, which have been proven to be very effective and efficient in bringing the FFB to the collection points.
According to Johari, the meat industry is part of the National Agri-food sector. It is very important to raise the income of livestock farmers, meat handlers and encourages the growth of the national economy. As a Master Butcher, Johari talked about the formation of a National Butcher Club. He said meat knowledge and the cuts are critical in getting more value from the carcass. Needless to say, meat handling and hygiene is important from the slaughter houses to the homes of consumers. But, of equal importance is the production of healthy cattle. At KHB, the cattle is managed under a rotation grazing system, fed on grass (herbage under the palms), supplemented with PKC and have access to salt licks and plenty of clean water. The animals are rounded up quarterly, weighed and de-wormed. KHB cattle can reach market weight of 250 kg in 24 months, which make them tender beef and popular with the local butchers.