Riri Rahayu, Jakarta – The government is targeting an annual production of shrimp of up to 2 million tons starting in 2024. Director General of Aquaculture of the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry (KKP) TB Haeru Rahayu said this poses a challenge in increasing food demand as it comes in line with a potential population spike as in 2045, Indonesia's population is projected to reach 318.9 million.
"Automatically, an increase in population and an increase in food demand will increase demand for fish. Which is why we are required to increase production," said TB Haeru in a discussion specifically about this shrimp production growth on Saturday, April 8. "This is a logical consequence of an increase in population."
Haeru is optimistic about facing the magnitude of this near-future production goal and believes that the domestic shrimp farming capabilities can meet the projected future demands. Currently, the projected farming space reaches 2.9 million hectares and is backed by the climate all year round that supports the production.
"It is this strength that we have that pushed the government to set the target of 2 million tons," he said.
However, he does not deny that there are still a number of weaknesses in realizing this shrimp production goal, which include the lack of quality broodstock and seeds, inadequate providers of quality seeds, cultivated land that does not meet technical criteria, high production costs, and raw materials that are still imported.
Another weakness he mentioned lies in the traditional cultivation method which means it is still untouched by modern technology.
He also highlighted the pond infrastructure that has not been integrated, limited access to capital, product management, and harvest handling that do not meet ideal criteria, and the lengthy and decentralized licensing process as challenges that need to be overcome before accomplishing the two million tons annual shrimp cultivation goal.
Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1713129/indonesia-aims-to-produce-2-million-tons-of-shrimp-annuall