Support to Seaweed Farmers in Indonesia - TCP/INS/3502

Abstract

East Sumba District on Sumba Island is a large and expanding seaweedproducing region in East Nusa Tenggara Province, eastern Indonesia, withover 15 000 ha of suitable shallow sea area for seaweed farming. Of thisarea, only 2.5 percent is currently utilized. The dried seaweed produced inthe region is considered of good quality and hence highly desirable in thenational and export markets. Further expansion of this small-scale marinefarming activity rests on finding solutions to a series of farming andmarketing complications faced by the farmers, many of which could beadequately resolved by simply ensuring the adoption of good aquaculturepractices (GAPs) and supporting the development of an efficient marketflow for the harvested dried products. In order to support the seaweedfarmers in these remote, relatively isolated and poor coastal communities,technical assistance was provided by FAO to improve both farmingpractices and marketing of the seaweeds. A key focus of the project was onthe development of an improved seaweed value chain that would improvethe livelihoods of the coastal farmers involved, as well as those of seaweedtraders and processors. The project finally focused on increasingopportunities for the production of seaweed-based products (i.e. localvalue addition) and securing decent employment, particular for women,along the value chain.