TEMPO Interactive, Makassar:Zulkifli Gani Ottoh, the Deputy Chairman of the South Sulawesi Indonesian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), said that they will build three seaweed processing plants in South Sulawesi. He hoped that the industry will maximize the seaweed produced by farmers in all South Sulawesi.
Zulkifli said South Sulawesi is the region with the highest seaweed production in Indonesia. That is the reason they want to ensure its quality development. “In a short time, we will train the farmers,” he said. Based on data from the South Sulawesi Maritime and Fisheries Office, seaweed production in 2010 will increase by 70 percent more than the previous year. The production in 2009 amounted to 825 tons and in 2010 it increased to 1.5 million tons.
The Head of South Sulawesi Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Office, Zulkaf Sultan Gani, said that marine potential in South Sulawesi has not been explored to the maximum. South Sulawesi has a 1937 kilometer long coast line and a 250.000 hectare marine cultivation, but only 10 percent are being commercially used..