The Lembu Mulyo Farmers Group in East Java Strengthens Movement Resilience through Strengthening the Cattle Farming Economy 

For the people of Lembu Mulyo Village, Banyuwangi Regency, East Java, cattle are not merely livestock. They consider them savings, emergency funds, and a means of supporting daily living. This makes cattle farming a long-term source of livelihood. Despite these hopes, the community still faces the problem of uncertain cattle prices, and cattle farmers often fall victim to fraudulent middlemen.broker) and slaughterers who unilaterally suppress prices, resulting in income inequality for livestock farmers. On the other hand, the community is also faced with the threat of a gold mining concession on the nearby Mount Tumpang Pitu, which has been operating on 11.621 hectares of land.

Seeing this situation, in 2023 the Lembu Mulyo Village community formed the Lembu Mulyo Farmers and Livestock Group to break the chain of middlemen and cattle slaughterers, ensure that livestock farmers determine their own cattle prices based on live weights in accordance with the reference retail price of meat in the market, and reject the existence of gold mines that are considered to damage the environment and threaten agricultural and livestock life.

Furthermore, the Livestock Farmers Group is promoting initiatives to strengthen cattle farming businesses to increase livestock price stability through a community-based price protection system and increase income by meeting members' meat needs and processing products such as meatballs and other derivatives. By strengthening the economic chain, the Lembu Mulyo group seeks to demonstrate that a community-based economy can act as a bulwark against the expansion of extractive industries that damage the environment.

This initiative has successfully cut off the dependence of cattle breeders from middlemen and cattle slaughterers by selling beef directly to group members for Rp. 120.000/kg and to non-group members for Rp. 130.000. This price is considered Rp. 20.000 cheaper compared to the price of beef in the market which can reach Rp. 140.000. This condition benefits group members because they no longer buy beef at high prices to make processed beef products such as meatballs and meatballs from the market. On the other hand, this economic strengthening has also had an impact on strengthening the commitment and solidarity of the community to reject gold mining in their area.