ID :
24725
Wed, 10/15/2008 - 21:01
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/24725
The shortlink copeid
FISH CULTIVATION SEEN AS ALTERNATIVE WAY TO OVERCOME FOOD SCARCITY
Denpasar, Indonesia, Oct 15 (ANTARA) - Fish cultivation in lakes, rivers, the sea and brackish water is a viable alternative way to overcome food scarcity caused by the shrinking area of farm land in Indonesia, a fisheries official said.
"In the face of a doubling of Indonesia's population in 2035, water-based farming will have quite good prospects," Made L. Nurdjana, director general of cultivated fisheries at the marine and fisheries ministry, said here Wednesday.
He said Indonesia's population was predicted to reach 400 million in 2035 so that the existing agricultural land would no longer be able to meet the people's need for food.
Therefore, water-based farming to increase fish production should begin to be developed early on. The higher level of the Indonesian people's welfare would lead to increased fish consumption, he said.
Indonesia's fish consumption was now an average of 25 kg of fish per capita per year or far below Japan's, Singapore's or Korea's which stood at more than 60 kilogram per capita per year.
Through efforts to promote water-based farming it was hoped the country's agricultural production could be increased in the future, he said.
Overall fish production this year and in 2009 was expected to increase by 20 percent while production of cultivated fish was even projected to grow by 40 percent a year.
In the eastern regions of Indonesia the top water-based farming product would be seaweed whose output was projected to grow by over 60 percent a year.
In the country's western parts, the premier water-based farming commodity would be 'nila' and 'patin' fish the production of which was expected to grow 60 percent per year.
Indonesia which has a coastline of 95,000 kilometers is home to 45 percent of the fish species existing in the world. However, the country's fisheries potentials have yet to be developed maximally, Nurdjana said.
"In the face of a doubling of Indonesia's population in 2035, water-based farming will have quite good prospects," Made L. Nurdjana, director general of cultivated fisheries at the marine and fisheries ministry, said here Wednesday.
He said Indonesia's population was predicted to reach 400 million in 2035 so that the existing agricultural land would no longer be able to meet the people's need for food.
Therefore, water-based farming to increase fish production should begin to be developed early on. The higher level of the Indonesian people's welfare would lead to increased fish consumption, he said.
Indonesia's fish consumption was now an average of 25 kg of fish per capita per year or far below Japan's, Singapore's or Korea's which stood at more than 60 kilogram per capita per year.
Through efforts to promote water-based farming it was hoped the country's agricultural production could be increased in the future, he said.
Overall fish production this year and in 2009 was expected to increase by 20 percent while production of cultivated fish was even projected to grow by 40 percent a year.
In the eastern regions of Indonesia the top water-based farming product would be seaweed whose output was projected to grow by over 60 percent a year.
In the country's western parts, the premier water-based farming commodity would be 'nila' and 'patin' fish the production of which was expected to grow 60 percent per year.
Indonesia which has a coastline of 95,000 kilometers is home to 45 percent of the fish species existing in the world. However, the country's fisheries potentials have yet to be developed maximally, Nurdjana said.
