Brown Cane Sugar–cattle Production Integration for Rural Economic Development Prospects in South Sulawesi, Indonesia

Abstract

Sugar plays an important role in Indonesian economy; the commodity is one of the major import commodities in recent years. Integration of brown cane sugar (BCS) with cattle production is a potential business opportunity that can be developed for rural economic development. This integration can optimize the use of marginal lands, and facilitate the development of environment friendly organic farming. The research objective was to identify the potential for the development of BCS-cattle production integration based on land resources, technology, culture, labor force, and markets. Data were collected through focus group discussions and interviews of 75 randomly selected farms from three districts (Barru, Wajo, and Bone), all of them in South west Sulawesi, Indonesia. The results showed that there is a huge potential of 302,771 ha’s cultivated farm land, comprising of 10,355 ha’s rice fields, 86,753 ha’s dry land and 205.663 ha’s paddock grazing. Cattle raising is part of the farming culture in Sulawesi and a major source of income for most rural households. BCS-cattle production integration can generate employment opportunities, promote sugar and meat import substitution, produce biogas as an alternative energy source, increase the use of organic fertilizer, and promote organic-based farming system. For this system to be successful, government support is needed in establishing pilot projects at various locations which are expected to encourage farmers to adapt and develop the integrated farming system for rural economic development.