Indonesia has lots of cows. The Ministry of Agriculture says Indonesia will produce 437,783 tons of beef in 2021. This is 3.44% less than in 2020, when it was 453,418.44 tons. But people aren’t eating as much meat as Indonesia is making more beef.
One reason for the drop in production is sexual behaviour. Cows that are infertile, such as those with low libido and poor sperm quality, cause delays in conception and make the breeding season last longer. This costs money and could ruin the livestock business.
The country needs to produce more beef. Cows can be given Moringa leaves to improve their libido and sperm quality. This was done by Nursyam Andi Syarifuddin in his 2018 dissertation, “Utilization of Moringa Leaves (Moringa oleifera) to Increase Libido and Semen Quality of Bali Cow Bulls.”
In an interview with Wardah Athirah of the Identitas Unhas Reporter, he said that when he first started his research, Prof. Dr. Ir Abdul Latief Tollen Msc. gave him a challenge. He told them that a doctor must do something new that helps society. “In my village in Soppeng, there are lots of Moringa plants, but not much for livestock. “I also remember Prof. Latif’s research on Moringa, but it’s for female cows,” said Nursyam.
In previous studies, Moringa leaves were used to increase the number of cows that got pregnant. The same things that affect pregnancy in female cows also affect pregnancy in bulls, especially the quality of the semen. He tried feeding Bali male cattle Moringa to see if it helped.
Miracle tree for centuries
Moringa leaves have been around for thousands of years, but people haven’t used them much. In the 1990s, a French scientist named Lowel Kubli published the results of his research, which showed that Moringa leaves are high in nutrients and easy to use.
Moringa is called the “miracle tree” because it is healthy. It has lots of vitamins and minerals, especially zinc, which helps increase libido, sperm volume, movement, and quality in Bali cattle. Moringa is used as medicine. India has a Vedic water treatment made from moringa leaves that can treat many diseases. Moringa farming isn’t common, so he used wild moringa for his research.
The process starts with making the feed because that’s what research is based on. The treatment has to be the same for everyone, so I use young Moringa leaves. First, you don’t have to do anything special when taking leaves. Take the whole leaf, but leave three from the top and bottom because the shoot area is old and has low water content.
Then the stalks and leaves are dried in the room. Don’t dry the leaves in the sun as this could damage the vitamins. “Moringa can be eaten fresh too. “It was also used as animal feed in Nusa Tenggara,” Nursyam said.
Nursyam found that male Bali cattle ate Moringa leaves and their libido, sperm characteristics, and sperm motility improved. This led to more mating.
He hopes the community can still use this Moringa as feed, either dry or fresh, or as a supplement for livestock. Farmers call it “goat candy” because goats like to lick it. Nursyam is still making UMMB.
Source: https://identitasunhas.com/moringa-leaf-animal-feed-innovation-helps-more-cows-have-babies-in-bali/