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30, Mei 2023 | 11 bulan yang lalu

Support Indonesian Seaweed Farmers through Capital and Assistance

PT Kliring Berjangka Indonesia (KBI) continues to show its seriousness in supporting farmers, especially related to seaweed cultivation. After previously providing support through the Warehouse Receipt System mechanism, this time KBI`s effort is to provide capital and assistance to seaweed farmers in Lontar Beach, Serang, Banten. “The effort that KBI is running is of course in an effort to realize KBI`s role as part of a state-owned enterprise to become an accelerator of community economy. We hope that with this capital and assistance, seaweed farmers can improve their cultivation results, which will ultimately improve their family`s economy,” said Executive Vice President of PT Kliring Berjangka Indonesia, Andi Patriota Wibisono in his statement, Thursday (4/5/2023). The program that KBI is running is also part of the Social and Environmental Responsibility (TJSL) program that has been running. For this initial stage, KBI provides capital and assistance to 10 farmers, who will work on 160 stretches of Gracilaria seaweed plants. One stretch of seaweed has a length of 30 meters and can produce 80 kilograms of seaweed. The seaweed cultivation cycle is 45 days from planting to harvesting. Gracilaria seaweed is a type of seaweed that lives in tropical waters. The derivatives of this type of seaweed are widely used in industry and pharmacy, as well as for making agar-agar. Related to seaweed commodities, Indonesia which has a vast ocean has great potential for this commodity. According to the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, in 2021 Indonesia`s seaweed production reached 9.12 million tons. Andi Patriota Wibisono added that this program will provide certainty and sustainability for seaweed farmers. This is because from the existing harvest results, some will be sold and generate income for farmers, and the rest will be seeds for the next planting. “In the future, KBI will continue to realize programs that have a direct impact on the community, which will all be carried out through the Social and Environmental Responsibility program,” he explained. Nasan, one of the farmers who received assistance from KBI said, “We are certainly very helped by this program from KBI. In the future we can continue to develop production capacity which will certainly increase income. In addition, we can continue to run this seaweed cultivation, because there is availability of seeds for the next planting season. We hope that the program run by KBI can be sustainable and can be followed by other state-owned enterprises”.

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30, Mei 2023 | 11 bulan yang lalu

Indonesia Continues to Pursue Ideal Seaweed Export Ratio

The government is striving to achieve the seaweed export target with a 50-50 ratio of raw materials and value-added products. This was stated by the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment (Menko Marves), Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan. According to 2021 data, Indonesia`s seaweed export composition is still dominated by raw materials or dried seaweed at 65 percent. While the remaining 35 percent are processed seaweed products that have added value. “The export target with a 50-50 ratio of raw materials and value-added products has not been achieved. In 2021, our seaweed export composition is still dominated by dried seaweed raw materials at 65 percent,” said Luhut, Tuesday (1/11/2022). Therefore, Luhut mentioned that there are several things that need to be done. Such as continuing the seaweed industrialization roadmap with measurable targets and clear progress targets. In addition, Luhut said, making comprehensive improvements. Starting from the related regional regulations that must be integrated with the management of marine and coastal spatial planning that is appropriate. Including the provision of quality seeds to maintain quality until the regulation of raw material exports. This is also to increase the capacity and ability of domestic processed marine products that are more competitive. According to Luhut, all can be achieved with the synergy of all Ministries/Institutions, regional governments and the private sector. “And this is a challenge for us all to seriously increase the downstreaming of competitive seaweed processing industries,” he said. It is known that Indonesia is a place where various types of seaweed grow. Based on the World Food and Agriculture Organization 2020, Indonesia is the largest producer of Eucheuma Cottoni seaweed in the world. In addition, Indonesia is also the world`s second largest producer after China for Gracilaria Verrucosa. Unfortunately, almost 93 percent of total domestic production is still exported in raw form. Whereas it is known that seaweed can be processed into industrial raw materials such as carrageenan (chemical compound) which has added value. “When looking at the export volume until September 2022, it was recorded that the volume of seaweed exports was 180,000 tons,” said Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Sakti Wahyu Trenggono. “Where most of the exports are still dominated by dried seaweed at 93 percent. This shows that the added value of seaweed has not been fully utilized domestically,” said Sakti.

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30, Mei 2023 | 11 bulan yang lalu

Sidoarjo Seaweed Farmer Cooperative Collaborates with Australian Start-Ups

The Agar Makmur Sentosa seaweed farmers` cooperative from Jabon, Sidoarjo has partnered with ULUU, an Australian start-up that produces seaweed biomaterials. The partnership agreement with the foreign investor was signed at the cooperative`s office on Saturday (25/3/2023). The cooperative`s chairman, Heri Sudarmono, said the partnership shows a mutual interest in a multi-year collaboration and a shared goal with ULUU, which is a start-up from Australia. “Gracilaria seaweed is only cultivated in three regions in Indonesia. One of them is in Jabon, Sidoarjo. ULUU has done research in Vietnam and other countries, but they chose the seaweed farmers in Jabon, Sidoarjo,” he said. He added that the partnership with Australia is a challenge and an opportunity for the seaweed farmers in the cooperative. With an area of 1,200 ha and more than 150 farmers, the cooperative is optimistic to achieve the production target of 1,000 tons of seaweed by 2024. “This is an opportunity for us. It helps our economic growth. We hope to meet the target of 1,000 tons of seaweed per year,” he said. He also said that ULUU is still doing research and waiting for the factory construction in Pasuruan to finish. “The Fisheries Department and the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries also helped us with guidance and advice on how to produce good and quality seaweed,” he said. Meanwhile, ULUU`s CEO Dr. Julia Reisser said that the MoU marks ULUU`s facility to its partners to facilitate a mobile technology application that can track the seaweed supply chain. “ULUU is an Australian start-up that produces natural materials known as PHA from seaweed, seawater, and a unique brine fermentation process. They are compostable materials that can replace plastic and improve the climate and ocean health,” she said. Julia said that the partnership is not only to get the best quality seaweed from Jabon, Sidoarjo. They also plan to build and operate a commercial factory and support the downstream program of the Indonesian government. “The cooperative can produce more than 500 tons of dry Gracilaria per month (6,000 tpa) and is strategically located 30 km from Pasuruan industrial area, where ULUU is considering to build its first commercial facility,” she said through an interpreter. She said that they are currently doing a 12-month seaweed survey, where small samples of Gracilaria will be collected every month from different locations in the cooperative`s cultivation area. “These samples will be analyzed to support the techno-economic feasibility of using Gracilaria to produce ULUU biomaterials on a commercial scale,” she said.

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