Yogyakarta's 1st shrimp farming venture harvests

JAKARTA (JP): Sultan Hamengkubuwono X inaugurated on Saturday the maiden harvest at what is described by fisheries experts at Gadjah Mada University as the first intensive shrimp farming venture on the southern coastline of Yogyakarta.

"The success of this shrimp farming pilot project would open up a great opportunity to develop the sandy, barren land on the southern coast of Yogyakarta for the great benefit of the local people," said the sultan, who is also the governor of Yogyakarta, at the inaugural harvest at the coastal village of Pandansimo.

He said Yogyakarta's southern coastline had so far remained idle because the sandy land and its salty water were not suitable for any crops.

"But shrimp farming would create a new means of livelihood for the local people," he said.

The shrimp farming project was developed by PT Indokor Bangun Desa in cooperation with the fisheries and forestry departments of Gadjah Mada University.

"This is a great start for the future development of hundreds of hectares of intensive shrimp farming on the Yogyakarta southern coastline by the local people," Indokor chairman Tony Agus Ardie said.

Tony said while brackish-water shrimp farming had so far been developed mostly on the northern coast of Java, the Indokor pilot project showed that the southern coast could be turned into a major shrimp producing center.

He added that while most other shrimp ponds could only support two harvests a year and produced only about two metric tons of shrimp per hectare per harvest, the pilot project using ponds constructed with bio-precast concrete could generate three harvests a year, each with a yield of four metric tons per hectare.

Indokor has completed the first stage of development of the project, which covers 15 hectares, including support infrastructure, and will soon embark on constructing another 15 hectares of ponds.

"We will then help the local people to manage their own ponds using our technology and with our own ponds as the agent of development," he said.

Therefore, Tony added, the project has from the outset employed locals, both as laborers and trainees, so that they can gain adequate skills in shrimp farming.

Later next year when the second stage of development is completed, approximately 400 locals will have gained enough skills to become shrimp farmers, he said.

"The participation of Gadjah Mada University in the project is also quite crucial as research and development is vital for environmentally friendly and sustainable shrimp farming," he noted.

The project also will function as a research and development center for shrimp farming, a quality-control laboratory, a training center for shrimp farmers and will provide field practice for Gadjah Mada University students.

As the developer of the shrimp complex, Indokor will be responsible for constructing ponds, training shrimp farmers, financing research and development and providing basic infrastructure, he said.

Tony expected the project would eventually be able to develop a 200-hectare shrimp complex complete with cold storage, a feed mill and a hatchery. (vin)