Abdullah Agus Salim, a tilapia fish farmer at Farm Feed Cimahi, Sukabumi, West Java, hopes that the fish production, which is a local commodity, can become a mainstay menu in the kitchen providing Free Nutritious Meals (MBG).
"We've tried to reach other kitchens to market our products, but we're still facing challenges. Some kitchens haven't approved it, and some are using other fish as well. But we're focusing on tilapia to market our products to all kitchens," Agus said when met by the media at the Digital Fisheries Technology Harvest event in Sukabumi, West Java, on Wednesday.
Agus said that per cycle, or three months, he can produce around 40 tons of tilapia. Currently, his farming group can only supply one MBG kitchen in Sukabumi Regency in the form of 300-500 gram fish fillets.
However, fish farmers still face difficulties in encouraging other MBG kitchens to include tilapia as a mandatory menu item, a process that's not as easy as offering chicken. Therefore, he hopes the local government will pay special attention to their superior regional commodities.
Agus said that tilapia cultivation at Farm Feed, Cimahi, has adopted Internet of Things (IoT)-based microbubble technology that can increase oxygen levels in the water so that the fish remain healthy and can meet production and market needs.
