BANJARMASIN, S Kalimantan: Chairman of Indonesian Association of Farmers and Fishermen (KTNA) for South Kalimantan Muharram declares the province with an area of about 3.7 million hectares and divided into 13 districts and cities is quite potential for aquaculture business, AntaranewsKalsel reported.
“Because of the 13 districts and cities, five of them are coastal areas that are connected to the sea, namely Banjar, Barito Kuala (Batola), Tanah Laut (Tala), Tanah Bumbu (Tanbu) and Kotabaru districts,” he said in Banjarmasin on Monday .
“Even as Kotabaru not only borders the Java Sea (Indonesian Sea), but also the Sulawesi Sea and Makassar Strait, and there are many islands, while the other four districts are bordered by the Java Sea,” he continued.
However, said Drs Muharram, who is also a member of Commission II of South Kalimantan DPRD and in charge of agriculture, there are obstacles in the development of aquaculture business in the province, among others the problem of fertilizer.
“For aquaculture business to grow and develop well, the farmers need fertilizer,” he said.
But the farmers find it difficult to get fertilizer to support the growth and development of aquaculture business, he told AntaranewsKalsel.
Therefore, he hopes, for the government or related agencies to pay more serious attention to the efforts of fish farming in South Kalimantan which is quite potential.
“Because the results of fish ponds are quite diverse it can bring foreign exchange if the business management is done well and correctly, and with the government guidance, as well as assistance of other supporting facilities and infrastructure,” said Muharram.
People’s aquaculture business in South Kalimantan is not only in the form of milkfish, but also shrimp and crab that has the potential as non-oil export commodities.