UGM Veterinary Program Trains Special-Needs Students in Livestock Farming

The Department of Physiology at Universitas Gadjah Mada's Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (FKH UGM) delivered a training session on livestock housing management and animal health on October 10 at Griya Peternakan Ainul Yakin in Karangtengah Hamlet, Gunungkidul Regency, Special Region of Yogyakarta. Six speakers from the department joined the program, which paired hands-on husbandry instruction with foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) prevention outreach.

The venue is not an ordinary farm. Griya Peternakan Ainul Yakin functions as the working arm of the Ainul Yakin Islamic Boarding School, an institution established specifically for children with special needs. On this site, integrated livestock farming serves as a learning platform, a social and behavioral therapy setting, a life-skills program, and an entrepreneurship trainer — all at once.

What does the training change at the farm level?

Professor Sarmin, Head of the Department of Physiology at FKH UGM, said the integrated farming system at Ainul Yakin holds considerable potential, supported by ample land and cooperation with the surrounding community. He framed the program as more than a production exercise.

"Through activities such as feeding animals, cleaning livestock sheds, caring for livestock, and helping manage the land, the students have opportunities to develop a sense of responsibility and teamwork according to their individual abilities," Sarmin said in a statement issued November 2.

Entrepreneurship forms the second pillar. Through productive livestock activities, students with special needs learn business processes, manage simple economic activities, and build skills that can help them lead more independent lives.

The speaker roster named by the university included:

• Professor Pudji Astuti and five other speakers from the FKH UGM Department of Physiology
• Claude Mona Airin and Vincentia Trisna Yoelinda
• Wiwit Astuti, veterinarian and head of the Wonosari Animal Health Center (Puskeswan)
• Professor Ibnu Syamsi of Yogyakarta State University (UNY)

How does FMD prevention fit in?

Alongside housing management, the FKH UGM team and the Wonosari Animal Health Center ran an FMD prevention session for local farmers. Wiwit Astuti stressed that farmers need to understand disease prevention measures, monitor their livestock's health, and use animal health services as needed.

"Collaboration between universities and animal health service units is expected to broaden public access to information while supporting better livestock farming practices," Wiwit said.

For a regency such as Gunungkidul, where smallholder operations dominate, that pairing matters. The program places a veterinary faculty and a government animal health center in the same yard as farmers and students, transferring biosecurity knowledge directly to the people who apply it daily.

How long has the program run?

The Department of Physiology at FKH UGM has supported Ainul Yakin since 2020. The program's trajectory shows a steady widening of scope:

• 2020: initial assistance focused on Jawa Super chicken, goat, and sheep farming
• 2025: expansion into grass cultivation as an animal feed source
• 2026: planned shift toward beef cattle farming

Each phase adds a production layer to the integrated system, giving students a broader set of animals, feeds, and husbandry tasks to work with.

What comes next?

The department and Griya Peternakan Ainul Yakin state they will continue developing the integrated system, aiming to produce healthy, productive livestock while delivering social and economic benefits to the community and creating opportunities for students with special needs to become more independent. With beef cattle farming scheduled to enter the program in 2026, the site's role as both a working farm and a classroom is set to expand again.

By Nathan Brooks