PT Perusahaan Gas Negara Tbk together with the National Research and Innovation Agency is developing the Minapadi Salin program in the Sicepit Beach area, Batang Regency, Central Java, to increase the economic value of the coastal land in the area.
PGN Corporate Secretary Fajriyah Usman said this collaborative program with BRIN and the Batang Regency Government is an effort to strengthen food security while improving the welfare of coastal communities through the productive and sustainable use of saline land.
According to him, in his statement in Jakarta, Thursday, by cultivating biosaline rice on land affected by salinity in coastal areas combined with the cultivation of saline tilapia in one area of land, and strengthened by seaweed cultivation, it is hoped that it can become an alternative commodity with economic value.
"The Minapadi Salin program is a concrete manifestation of this commitment, integrating agricultural and fisheries innovations, including the development of seaweed commodities, to improve farmer welfare while strengthening national food security," said Fajriyah.
This program has previously been implemented in the northern coastal area of Semarang, namely in Mangunharjo, as well as in Jepara Regency in the form of Biosalin rice, while in Batang it is a development with a more integrated approach.
In Semarang, from the initial program area of 20 hectares (ha), currently land development has reached more than 115 ha, while in Jepara, the harvest realization reached 22 ha of the target of 20 ha with an economic achievement of IDR 1.23 billion.
Overall, the economic value of the Biosalin rice program is IDR 7.66 billion.
In its implementation in Batang Regency, the Minapadi Salin program not only integrates Biosalin rice cultivation, but also develops saline tilapia fish commodities, as well as seaweed as an additional source of income for coastal communities.
This program is implemented on 32.26 ha of land managed by the Sido Barokah Mulyo Farmers Group Association , Intani Farmers Group, and Dewi Sri VI Farmers Group.
Meanwhile, the seaweed commodity cultivated in this program is Gracilaria verrucosa, which has high economic value and is adaptive to saline coastal water conditions.
In the initial stage, the distribution was carried out using around 30 kilograms of seaweed seeds.
BRIN Deputy for Regional Research and Innovation, Yopi, said the Minapadi Salin program demonstrates that research results can be implemented effectively to address challenges in the field, particularly in coastal areas with high salinity levels.
"This approach not only restores land productivity, but also increases the economic value of the area," he said.
With the support of research-based agricultural technology developed by BRIN, this program targets rice productivity to reach 6-7 tons per hectare.
Meanwhile, saline tilapia seeds are expected to produce a harvest with an average weight of around 300 grams per fish.
Seaweed cultivation is expected to provide additional income through a relatively short, sustainable harvest pattern.
In the future, this program will also be strengthened by planting mangroves in coastal areas around cultivation locations as an effort to mitigate coastal abrasion while maintaining the sustainability of coastal ecosystems.
At the launch of the Minapadi Salin program in Batang Regency, 10,000 salin tilapia seeds were released, followed by the handover and planting of Biosalin rice seeds with farmers.
The first harvest is targeted to be carried out in approximately three months from planting, with the potential for productivity reaching up to 5 kilograms of harvest for every 1 kilogram of seeds sown.
After the initial harvest, seaweed cultivation is planned to continue with a sustainable harvest pattern in stages every 3-4 weeks, so that it is hoped that it will be able to increase land productivity while supporting community incomes sustainably.
Batang Regent M Faiz Kurniawan said this program is a strategic step in utilizing saline land that has been less productive to become an economically valuable agricultural and fisheries area.
"This program not only supports national food security but also opens up opportunities to improve the welfare of farmers and coastal communities through more productive use of saline land," he said.
