STRUCTURE, CONDUCT AND PERFORMANCE OF THE BEEF SECTOR IN PAPUA, EASTERN INDONESIA
Yustina Lina Dina Wambrauw1, Risti Permadi 2 Lukas Yowel Sonbait 3

1) Department of Sosial Economic of Agricultural. Faculty of Agricultural, Papua University. Gunung Salju Street, Manokwari, 98314 West Papua, Indonesia
2) Global Food Studies, University of Adelaide, Australia
3) Department of Animal Production. Faculty of Animal Science, Papua University. Gunung Salju Street, Manokwari, 98314, West Papua, Indonesia

Abstract

The Indonesian government has been delivering an ambitious target to achieve self-sufficiency in beef at the national level. Each province is expected to contribute to meeting the growing demand of beef and, therefore, the self-sufficiency target. This study aims to characterize the beef sector in West Papua, one of the most eastern parts of Indonesia, by applying a Structure-Conduct-Performance (SCP) analysis. The beef sector in this province remains under-researched. The analysis suggests the oligopsony nature of the industry. A large number of smallholder farmers are operating at low gross margins and dominated by a small number of middle segment actors. This paper highlights the importance of developing middle segments of the value chain. This can be done through transportation infrastructure development as well as improvement in farmers^ collective actions in order to improve smallholder producers^ market access. The overall evaluation of the beef industry in West Papua suggests some areas for investment. With an average herd size of 2.49, cattle farming remains to be a secondary job for many beef cattle farm households. A review of existing studies suggests that smallholder farmers are operating at low gross margins and lacking the adoption of technology despite various government programs aiming to improve their productivity and livelihoods.Given their price differences, West Papua might actually have opportunities to export beef to Papua assuming that they have excess supply.

Keywords: Beef, Cattle, Beef farming characteristics, beef industry characteristics, Structure - Conduct - Performance (SCP), Indonesia, West Papua Province, value chains.

Topic: Animal Genetics, Breeding and Livestock Production