UNSRI Assists in Buffalo Milk Processing

"Processing technology is needed to improve quality and extend shelf life," said the Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture at Unsri, Prof. Dr. Ir. Andy Mulyana, M.Sc.

Prof. Andy, who is also a candidate for Unsri’s rector, believes that universities must play a role in supporting technological shifts in society.

“Universities help educate the public so they can process buffalo milk into modern products,” he said.

For example, by producing buffalo milk jelly drinks that can be marketed to millennial students to increase their protein and calcium intake. Buffalo milk can also be processed into milk candies, ice cream, and yogurt.

Unsri has been providing assistance since 2018 in collaboration with another partner, the Peatland Restoration Agency, which has provided a modern buffalo milk pasteurization machine with a substantial capacity of 25 liters.

“This machine can process buffalo milk into the various products mentioned above,” he said.

The machine was handed over directly to the Chairman of the Ibnul Falaah Foundation, Muhammad Hasan, at the Unsri Campus in Palembang, witnessed by Dr. Ir. M. Yazid, M.Sc., as the project coordinator, and Dr. Takashi Tsuji, a researcher from Saga University in Japan, who is interested in processed buffalo milk products and is conducting research in Pampangan.

The swamp areas in South Sumatra have indeed been the focus of attention lately because most of the swamp land is part of the peat hydrological unit (KHG), which is currently experiencing widespread drought and causing devastating fires.

““Interest in swamp buffaloes has increased because raising them requires waterlogged swamps, not dry ones,” said Andy.

Efforts to raise swamp buffalo could be an option to prevent the swamps from drying out. Swamp buffalo are also expected to be more than just a static asset; they can provide various benefits to the community, such as milk that can be harvested repeatedly.

“Meat, on the other hand, is a one-time harvest,” said Andy.

The principle is that without swamps, there would be no swamp buffalo; therefore, if the swamps are preserved, buffalo farmers will prosper (MY).