Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Maritime and Fishery Ministry and the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will develop a low-cost catfish (Pangasius Sp.) culture in Indonesia after a pilot project in South Sumatra this year yielded positive result.
Under the "Supporting Local Feed Self-Sufficiency for Inland Aquaculture in Indonesia" project, the ministry and FAO will impart training to farmers on the Pangasius culture to become self-reliant in producing low-cost, high-quality fish feed, the ministry's aquaculture director general, Slamet Soebjakto, noted in a statement received here on Monday.
Soebjakto explained that the project, costing US$257 thousand, aims to boost the production of Pangasius in Indonesia, one of the world's largest catfish producers.
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"I believe the self-produced, low-cost fish feed will positively contribute to Pangasius production and its efficiency," he stated.
By increasing the yield, Soebjakto expects Indonesia to soon be able to export Pangasius to markets in the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and the United States.
The farmers' self-produced fish feed, made of silage and palm karnel milk, is of the same quality as the factory-made product, Soebjakto pointed out.
Following the positive result of the program's pilot project in South Sumatra, the ministry is looking forward to the FAO offering continued assistance to Pangasius farmers in the country's other regions to self-produce the low-cost fish feed.
"We will introduce this self-produced fish feed to other Pangasius farmers in the country. We expect that the FAO will continue to support the country's aquaculture industry, mainly in terms of providing solutions to deal with future challenges," he stated.
Apart from the FAO, the ministry's director general also prompted local governments to offer financial support to Pangasius farmers by offering at least 10 percent subsidy in the fish feed production cost.
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