Shrimp has always been a mainstay commodity for Indonesia to gain abundant foreign exchange in the international market. Aquatic animals belonging to the crustacean group are known to lead the fishery product export market for Indonesia with a dominance of up to 32.5 percent.
However, it is feared that the large economic potential of shrimp will change one day, and even experience a decrease in production. For this reason, a plan is needed that has the support of all stakeholders with a good transportation system.
The system that can support this is none other than the national fish logistics system (SLIN) which will have a positive impact on the shrimp supply chain from upstream to downstream. If SLIN is implemented, efficiency and effective governance will be created.
The Director General of Strengthening the Competitiveness of Marine and Fishery Products of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (PDS KKP) Budi Sulistyo said that SLIN plays a very important role in increasing the competitiveness of fishery products.
“Just like the shrimp commodity, through increasing productivity and improving logistics management in Indonesia,” he said recently in Jakarta.
Currently, KKP has implemented SLIN which is expected to have a significant impact on shrimp management nationally. Thus, the supply of shrimp will always be available with quality that is always well maintained and of course, this will trigger price stability in the market.
KKP Logistics Director Berny A Subki added, one of the efforts for SLIN to have a positive impact on national shrimp management is to strengthen the role of South Sulawesi as a national shrimp center.
This is done by making South Sulawesi one of the main ports ( hubs ) for shrimp distribution for domestic and export markets. In order for this to work well, currently an increase in cargo consolidation is carried out by fulfilling the supply of fishery products for export purposes from the eastern part of Indonesia.
In addition, the role of the Soekarno Hatta Port in Makassar must be strengthened so that it can play a role as a hub and feeder port ( spoke ) for the export of fishery products from South Sulawesi and Eastern Indonesia.
The Directorate General of PDS KKP disclosed data and facts that shrimp recorded an export value of USD 567 million from January to April 2023. Or, it ranks at the top for fishery export products from Indonesia.
However, so that shrimp can remain beneficial but not reduce the carrying capacity of the environment, shrimp cultivation activities are carried out in a sustainable manner by paying attention to all aspects that can realize environmentally friendly principles.
Environmentally friendly
One of the efforts to increase national shrimp production in a sustainable way is to build modern shrimp ponds such as those in Tegalretno Village, Petanahan District, and Kebumen Regency.
Area-Based Shrimp Cultivation (BUBK)–the name of the location of the pond–, is expected to be an example of implementing modern technology for shrimp farming, but still prioritizing environmentally friendly principles.
Tb Haeru Rahayu mentioned all cultivation activities at BUBK Kebumen have used intensive technology with productivity reaching 40 tonnes per hectare per cycle. He admitted that this figure is still far from the average traditional productivity which can reach around 60 tons per hectare.
However, he said that production with a yield of up to 40 tons per hectare was in accordance with the current targets and best practices for modern shrimp cultivation. He said that BUBK Kebumen was a pilot because it prioritized ecological balance with the economy.
The advantage of using intensive technology in an aquaculture pond is that the stocking density is high, the irrigation system is good because it uses devices such as waterwheels and blowers, and the arrangement of pond plots is built regularly using high-quality tarpaulin.
These include water intakes, reservoirs, maintenance plots, wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), water quality and fish health testing laboratories, office buildings, feed warehouses, production facilities warehouses, the mes where operators live, and postharvest buildings.
A more detailed example, in WWTP facilities, for example, there are various processes to ensure that water from aquaculture production can be environmentally friendly. In addition to the deposition process, there is also oxygenation to return the water to normal.
One more thing, Tb Haeru Rahayu explained that BUBK Kebumen has also implemented the principles of good fish farming practices (CBIB) to ensure that all series of aquaculture activities meet sustainable environmentally friendly principles.
The success of BUBK Kebumen in carrying out fishery cultivation activities is expected to be a trigger for modern, environmentally friendly shrimp farming in Indonesia. Strictly speaking, cultivation activities at BUBK Kebumen can be redesigned by aquaculture business actors or the local government.
“We can show it to the public, to stakeholders. It turns out that cultivation, besides getting economic benefits, also cares about the environment and we can do that,” he concluded.
The Operational Officer of BUBK Kebumen I GdeBuddha Aduana Yasa explained shrimp farming activities in BUBK ponds had been running for 120 days. During that time, three harvests have been carried out, with the peak on Monday (6/26/2023).
At the moment of the BUBK harvest which was held last weekend, the Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Sakti Wahyu Trenggono explained that the total shrimp that had been harvested since it was inaugurated had reached 280 tons.
He is optimistic that BUBK Kebumen will contribute significantly to increasing national shrimp production. Moreover, last year’s shrimp production reached 1.09 million tons based on the One Data system or a 15 percent increase compared to 2021 production of 953 thousand tons.
By increasing the volume of national shrimp production, it is believed that the people’s economy and state revenues will also increase. Last year, shrimp contributed 34.57 percent or USD 2.16 billion to the total value of national fisheries exports.
In addition to Kebumen, the government is known to be preparing to build modern, environmentally friendly shrimp farming ponds covering an area of 1,800 ha in Waingapu, East Sumba Regency, East Nusa Tenggara. This pond is an integrated shrimp pond that connects the upstream to downstream sectors.
Agriculture and Food Vulnerable to El-Nino Impacts, Steps to Anticipate?
The World Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) issued a report last April and gave a warning regarding the El-Nino phenomenon to affected countries to take precautions. Indonesia, is one of the affected countries in the period from June 2023 to January 2024.
In this phenomenon, there is a warming of sea surface temperature (SML) in the central Pacific Ocean. Sea surface temperatures are above normal conditions, causing some land to experience a lack of rainfall to extreme dryness. While some areas will experience La Nina, it will always rain.
When El-Nino occurs, one of the threats of drought results in water shortages. Riza Yuliratno, Lecturer at the Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Agriculture, Gadjah Mada University (UGM), Yogyakarta, said that Indonesia had experienced something similar several years ago.
“In 2015, we experienced drought throughout the year due to an extreme (drought) or super El Nino,” he said in the Geger Tani Talk Show with the theme Agricultural Strategy to Face El Nino, some time ago.
He said researchers have several different categories in determining the average sea surface temperature in the Pacific Ocean to be considered as El-Nino. Some say more than 28 degrees Celsius, and there are 29 degrees Celsius. If the status is still watched, then there is a 50% chance that El-Nino will occur. If the status is alert, then 70% of the phenomenon will occur.
Similar to El-Nino in the Pacific Ocean, in the Indian Ocean there is also the phenomenon of the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), Indonesia is between the two oceans.
Riza said, if the two phenomena occur at the same time, the weather will be more extreme.
When a positive IOD occurs, it can cause drought in Indonesia. Conversely, if a negative IOD occurs and coincides with La-Nina, then extreme rainfall will result in flooding. In 2015, he said, there was an extreme drought because of El Nino and positive IOD occurred at the same time.
The member of the Empowerment of Fishermen and Coastal Communities of the Community Empowerment Council (MPM) Central Executive (PP) Muhammadiyah said that to anticipate the impact of El-Nino, one of them is by building infiltration wells. He said, there is a potential for drought.
The Indonesian sea, he said, will be very fertile even though on land there is a famine, fish resources are increasing because there are lots of phytoplankton which are nutrient-rich fish food. However, he said, big waves are a challenge for small fishermen.
“It’s just that our problem is that there are more small fishermen, small skill fish series, and even small boats, that can’t go out to sea. When there is a positive IOD or El-Nino it is usually associated with high waves due to extreme winds.”
Syahrul Yasin Limpo, Minister of Agriculture said, the agricultural sector has anticipated and prepared a number of strategies in dealing with El Nino, especially to ensure adequate food needs. They have three approaches, namely, mitigate, anticipate, and adapt.
Affected lands in Indonesia are divided into three categories, namely red (severely affected), yellow (medium), and green (low) categories. Of the three categories, he said, there are separate programs.
“The peak of the 2023 dry season in Indonesia is mostly predicted for July-August. So, this has to be a quick step that we have to prepare and one of the things that is massively prepared at this time is to speed up the main harvest,” said Syahrul at the event.
He said, the estimated planted agricultural land is nearly 10 million, and trying to catch up on the remaining water in three categories, specifically in the green and yellow areas. “We are chasing it faster so we can still get effective plant growth,” he said.
The ministry will also strengthen replanting such as sago, sorghum, and soybeans. “One of the diversification of food we have to prepare, not everything has to be rice and others. This is a lot, of course, to be done.”
Another step, he said, was sorting out commodities that were significantly affected by El Nino which could have an impact on inflation. Once identified, there will be intervention.
Apart from that, said Syahrul, the classic approach is to prepare the availability of water because during El Nino, when the weather is very hot and the springs are shrinking.
Syafi’i Latuconsina, Council of Experts of the Community Empowerment Council of the Central Leadership of Muhammadiyah, said that one of the things that farmers can do in dealing with El-Nino is environmentally friendly soil management, using organic fertilizers, and saving water.
To get organic fertilizer, he said, you can recycle agricultural waste such as rice husks. The focus of plant growth is always on the soil, nutrients or nutrients must be met properly.
“This means that the synthetic farming system is very unprofitable as a result of the fertilization model. This is a bit difficult because all commodities really need enough water to dissolve fertilizer elements or nutrients provided through the soil,” said Syafi’i.
Recycling agricultural waste to improve soil conditions is called a Biochart. Biochart can reduce excess nutrients in the soil when La-Nina occurs. In addition, it can reduce the rate of CO2 emissions, bind water in the soil, and accumulate carbon in large enough quantities.
According to Syafi’i, the use of organic materials in building agricultural systems in Indonesia has at least three advantages:
First, eliminate or limit the possible negative impacts of chemical culture. Second, organic materials have many real advantages compared to chemicals. Third, organic matter is a natural source of macro and micronutrients for free because it is obtained by utilizing agricultural waste.
The use of rice husks in Indonesia, said Syafi’i, is very potential for farmers because 20% of rice in Indonesia produces husk waste. He said this could be a solution for agriculture in Indonesia, especially when faced with climate anomalies.
