Dani's Determination


The first in a series of profiles on alumni of the Partnership’s Skills Development Programs.
  • Dani Hadipratomo from PT Widodo Makmur Perkasa an alumnus of the Partnership’s Commercial Cattle Breeding and Management Training

Name: Dani Hadipratomo
Age: 28
Company: PT Widodo Makmur Perkasa
Region: Central Java, Indonesia
Course: Commercial Cattle Breeding and Management Training
Program Graduate:  2018

 

For Dani Hadipratomo, the knowledge he gained through the Partnership’s Commercial Cattle Breeding and Management Training Program has had an ongoing impact on his work.

Dani was able to use the learnings from his training to enhance a smallholder partnership program that he had already designed for the company he works for, PT Widodo Makmur Perkasa. 

Dani’s program allows underprivileged farmers in the Wonogiri, Cianjur and Boyolali areas of Central Java to buy cows for fattening and subsequent sale, with 100% of the profits going to the farmers. 

To date, the program has assisted more than 100 poor farmers and provided them with more than 1,500 cows. 

According to Dani, the majority of smallholder farmers in Indonesia generally own only one or two cows, and they have never thought of selling cows as a primary form of business. 

“For these farmers, having a cow is a prestige. So imagine how much their social status in the community will change by having five or 10 cows,” Dani says. 

The smallholder program was initiated at the end of 2016, but the issue of financing the smallholder farmers remained. 

In 2017, PT Widodo Makmur Perkasa signed a memorandum of understanding with Bank Sinarmas to enable farmers engaged in the smallholder program to obtain loans at significantly reduced interest rates. 

“At first, we launched the program for farmers in Wonogiri and they could choose a parcel of five or 10 cows,” Dani explains.

The program specifically targets farmers who cannot afford to buy cows because they usually do not have the collateral to apply for a loan.

However, these smallholders must meet certain criteria such as having a cow shed, being able to provide cattle feed, and having a waste management system. 

“We also check their social background,” Dani adds. “Staff from the company and the bank ask their friends, family or neighbours whether this person has ever had any problems.

“We make sure they can, and are willing to, take care of the cows. If both the company and the bank approve, then the farmer can join the program.

“The farmers then spend several months taking care of the cows and sell them when they have fattened.”

Dani points out that his company does not provide constant supervision of the farmers, only the financing scheme and the cattle. Nevertheless, he wants all the farmers in his program to succeed. 

“I feel like it’s my responsibility,” he says. “So my team provides training at the beginning, before the farmers receive the cows, and then we make a guide book for them. 

“Then I personally come and visit the farmers every week.”

Dani says the breeding and management training provided by the Partnership has allowed him to improve the condition of livestock in the field. He has encouraged the farmers to be creative in making fermented feed to provide adequate nutrition for their cattle.

Dani hopes that, in the future, smallholder farmers in Central Java can make cattle fattening their main source of income
Dani hopes that, in the future, smallholder farmers in Central Java can make cattle fattening their main source of income

While training in Australia, Dani also learned about gender equality, and was inspired to make his local community aware that the smallholder program could also benefit women. 

“We tell them that this cattle partnership can be done by everyone, not only men. 

“Now, in a lot of cases, the whole family is involved and they help each other in tending to the cows.” 

This is the case with Purwanto, a 65-year-old retiree who joined the smallholder program last year.

“It’s not only me who is taking care of the cows,” he says. “My wife and I do it together.” 

Purwanto used to work at the nearby port, and decided to try fattening cattle because he already had a cow shed next to his house in Boyolali. 

He says that Dani and his team made sure he and his wife had the necessary skills in cattle management before they entered the program.

As a result, he was able to sell his cows within seven months, earning a profit of 20 million rupiah. 

“Programs like this can really help the farmers in my village,” Purwanto says. 

“I saw, when I used to work at the port, that the farmers here are poor. So I made the leap to show them we can do better.” 

Purwanto hopes that, in the future, smallholder farmers in Central Java can make cattle fattening their main source of income, instead of just a part-time job. 

For more information about the Partnership’s programs, visit redmeatcattlepartnership.org