VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Director General of Aquaculture of the Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry Slamet Soebjakto. ANTARA/M Razi Rahman/

The Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry has developed aquaculture micro insurance for fish farmers to minimize the risk of aquaculture businesses.

"The protection scheme for fish farming under the aquaculture micro insurance in Indonesia will be expanded next year, not only for fresh water and brackish water fish farming, but also for ocean fish farming," the ministry's Director General of Aquaculture Slamet Soebjakto said in a statement in Jakarta on Sunday.

Some commodities are recommended to be covered by aquaculture insurance in 2021, including sea weeds, grouper fish, star pomfret, and white snapper.

The government has taken measures to improve fish farmers' welfare, among others by minimizing the risk of aquaculture business due to natural disaster and fish diseases, provision of insurance for aquaculture.

Soebjakto said, aquaculture insurance has become the ministry's concrete action to protect fish farmers, as stipulated in the law no. 7/2016 on the protection and empowerment of fishermen, fish and salt farmers.

"With this aquaculture insurance, farmers would run their business more comfortably and easier to get access to funding for business expansion, hence fish farmers could increase productivity," he added.

Since 2017 the government has disbursed aid for small-scale fish farmers through payment of premium for small-scale fish farmers insurance (APPIK), to ensure continuity of the business when it was hit by natural disaster or fish disease.

As of 2019, the government has paid the insurance premium for 15,026 fish farmers in 25 provinces, covering some 20,836 hectares of ponds for shrimp, milkfish, tilapia, and catfish, using simple technology of monoculture and polyculture.

The APPIK program is targeted to cover five thousand hectares of land in 2020 with more farmers could enjoy the benefit. (ANTARA)