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Indonesia: Seaweed a saviour for farmers |
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Urgent issues
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Fresh produce – seaweed can be harvested every 45 days, meaning a regular income to support children like these.
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Hundreds of farmers in remote islands in East Nusa Tenggara province - islands east of Bali - are turning to the sea for a new start.
But it’s not fish they’re after. By farming seaweed culture, they are generating more money for their families than ever before.
The province’s seaweed boom has been greatly assisted by World Vision Indonesia, who has been intensively supervising the farmers to improve their professionalism and maximize their revenues.
World Vision has been working with over 600 seaweed farmers in six villages in Rote Island, a small island southeast of Timor Island, and 120 farmers in Sumba Island. Last March, World Vision organized an intensive training for 35 farmers in Rote, where they learned about the best ways to grow seaweed, to harvest, to dry the harvest and to negotiate the prices with the buyers.
Under the right conditions, the crop grows quickly with a harvest every 45 days. Seaweed also has a steady and growing market, including internationally, for food and the cosmetics industry.
Sugiyarto Atmodio, who supervises the program for World Vision in Rote, explains that the average price for seaweed is now about 6,200 rupiah per kilogram, as compared to around 4,000 rupiahs in the past.
"In the past, the quality of seaweed here was poor due to the lack of knowledge about the way to handle the seaweed culture. They, for example, usually just put the seaweed on the sand to dry up," says Sugiyarto. "After joining the training, they know better ways to dry the seaweed and get much better prices."
"During the last harvesting season, the farmers produced a total of 50 tons of seaweed.”
The seaweed from Rote and other islands in the province is sent to Java Island for processing and export. World Vision has played an important role here too, in ensuring that deals are done fairly.
The local seaweed council, assisted by World Vision, conducts negotiations with the buyers and provides necessary information to the farmers about the latest developments in the seaweed industry.
"We have also facilitated a meeting between the farmers and the main buyer,” explains Sugiyarto. They agreed to have more transparent weighing process. We have even helped check the accuracy of the weighing equipment."
World Vision has also sent several farmers from Rote to Kojadoi Island near Flores Island, also in East Nusa Tenggara province, to compare their techniques with the larger seaweed farms. This comparative study has greatly improved the farmers’ professionalism.
In Sumba Island, meanwhile, WV also helped 120 farmers in two villages to start growing seaweed. "About a year ago, less than 10 farmers grew seaweed. But the number has jumped to 120 and might further grow in the future," says Perdamen Sagala, World Vision’s program manager in West Sumba district.
Perdamen says seaweed culture is an exciting option for farmers because it offers much more income opportunity than growing corn or other crops. The soil in West Sumba is rocky and infertile.
"We are also in the process of sending five or more farmers to Flores (Kojadoi Island) to learn more professional ways to grow seaweed," says Perdamen.
In Rote, Sugiyarto believes that if the seaweed business continues to boom in coming months, farmers and their families will enjoy substantial transformation in their financial condition. "All seaweed farmers now always have money in their hands - the buyer come to their villages every two weeks."
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