Inmates in South Kalimantan Learn Responsibility and Teamwork Through Catfish Farming

Inmates at the Class IIB Penitentiary in Tanjung, South Kalimantan, have harvested 35 kilograms of catfish from an aquaculture programme designed to promote food security and self-sufficiency. One inmate, Rahman, stated that the process of raising the fish taught him valuable lessons in responsibility and teamwork. “I am happy to be directly involved in the rearing process up to the harvest. Besides gaining knowledge about fish farming, this activity also taught us responsibility,” Rahman said. He added that the values instilled through the programme have motivated him to start his own catfish business upon his release. Robbyanoor, Head of the Inmate Guidance and Work Activities Section, noted that the harvest demonstrates the effectiveness of independence-building through fisheries. “We continue to optimise agricultural, fishery, and livestock programmes so that inmates gain economically valuable productive skills they can use when they return to the community,” he said. The food security programme in prisons and detention centres was initiated after the Directorate General of Corrections moved under the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections. Minister Agus Andrianto integrated the discovery of idle land assets with President Prabowo Subianto’s national food self-sufficiency mission. He explained that even facilities without large plots of land can participate through methods like polybag planting or catfish farming. To ensure sustainability, third-party vendors supplying food to prisons are required to purchase at least five percent of their produce from these correctional food security programmes.