Since 2019, a partnership of Dutch companies active in the aquaculture sector, FishTechIndonesia, has been investing in Indonesia by establishing sustainable and innovative production systems and best practices locally. They opened two demonstration fish farms in Majalengka and Tulungagung.
In Majalenka (West Java), a recirculation aquaculture system (RAS) farm for catfish cultivation with an annual production capacity of 50 MT was established at the premises of CV SUMMARINDO. In addition, a RAS farm for the cultivation of pangasius with an annual production capacity of 30 MT was established at the premises of PT Mitra Cahaya Mina in Tulungagung (East Java).
The farms will act as demonstration facilities where fish farmers from both regions will be offered vocational training in the field of stocking, feeding, biosecurity and farm management. This will enable them to improve their yields and apply more sustainable farming methods (such as less water usage and reduction of antibiotics usage). In addition, the Dutch partners aim to improve access to markets by establishing partnerships with local retailers and wholesalers.
Matthias Brienen, director of Larive International, said that “strengthening Indonesia’s aquaculture sector requires an increase in domestic productivity in an environmentally and socially responsible way. This can be realized via introducing technologies developed in the Netherlands (such as semi-closed and closed recirculation systems) which have been proven in other emerging markets, in combination with technical advice.”
Kay De Vreese, president director of De Heus Indonesia, said that “due to the growing population and increasing purchasing power, we are expecting a growth in the consumption of freshwater fish in Indonesia. The introduction of innovative cultivation systems for hatcheries, nurseries and grow-out farms combined with high-quality fish feed, will allow our customers to practice more sustainable and efficient production methods, resulting in better technical performance and higher incomes.”
Indonesia has tremendous potential to be a leading global seafood player and the Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries has the ambition to increase sustainable aquaculture production and reduce prices to make fish affordable for a larger part of the Indonesian population. The FishTechIndonesia partners for this project are Royal De Heus BV, VIQON BV, Larive International BV and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Jakarta.
