The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DKP) has set a target to make Indonesia a world biggest fish producer in 2012, a cabinet minister said.

DKP Minister Fadel Muhammad said here on Monday that the plan to make Indonesia a world biggest fish producer was part of the DKP targets in its coming years` work programs.

“Indonesia should become a center of fish production so that it could control the world`s fish trade,” the minister said.

He said that Indonesia had the marine and fresh water potentials which were not possessed by all countries. Thus, it would not face significant barriers to achieve the target.
“Facilities at fish auction markets, access roads and fishermen`s fuel tanks to meet the need for fishing activities must also be improved and be made complete,” the minister said.

Besides, he said, his ministry was also adopting a special program called `minapolitan`, a program which combines agriculture and fisheries aimed at raising the income of farmers and fishermen.

The minapolitan scheme could be carried out, among others, with a `mina padi` program where fields were planted with rice while at the same time were also sowed with fish seeds so that the fields could yield rice and fish at the same time.

Source: Antara