MARDI's KK Cattle Breed Provides Lucrative Returns
MALAYSIA - The Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI) has produced a new breed of cattle called the Kedah-Kelantan (KK) breed which has the potential of providing lucrative returns to small and medium-scale livestock breeders.
17 April 2018
2 minute read
According to Bernama.com, Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek said the size of the KK breed was comparable to that of imported cattle.
"The research which started in 2006 has managed to produce this crossbred cattle, the weight of which could reach 430 to 460 kg for the male and 220 to 250 for female aged three to four years," he said at the official launch of the KK cattle breed and Kemaman Meat Valley on Saturday.
This breed is more popular and preferred by the local breeders as it has certain characteristics like being more resilient to weather conditions (hot and humid) and diseases, having a high birth rate of over 90 per cent per year, low mortality rate of less than two per cent, and incurring a low production cost as the KK breed is productive while requiring moderate-quality feed.
Ahmad Shabery said by using technology, artificial insemination could be carried out to increase the population of the KK breed at a fast pace.
On the Kemaman Meat Valley, he said this district with the highest number of KK breed cattle in the country at 18,000, was most suitable to be developed into a major beef producing area.
"The economy of the local people will also improve with increasing demand for beef from the cattle farms in Kemaman district," he said.
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