Prabowo targets 5,000 fishing villages built before 2029

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3 hours ago

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto said his government targets completing 5,000 Red and White Fishing Villages across Indonesia before 2029 to improve the welfare of coastal communities.

“This year, we will complete 1,300 fishing villages and next year, our target is 2,000 fishing villages. In 2028, another 2,000. Before 2029, our target is 5,000 fishing villages,” Prabowo said at the National Mandate Party’s (PAN) 28th anniversary event as monitored virtually here on Friday (18/9).

Prabowo said the Red and White Fishing Villages will be equipped with various facilities to support the economic activities of coastal communities, including cold storage rooms, ice-making facilities, and fuel stations (SPBU).

The government will also provide warehouses and vehicles to support the distribution of fishermen’s catches to markets.

“If necessary, we will build airfields near these fishing villages, so that high-value fish can be transported fresh by plane to markets around the world,” Prabowo said.

The infrastructure is needed to maintain the quality of fishermen’s catches, he added, while also expanding market access to the international level.

Prabowo said the government has also ordered at least 1,500 fishing vessels of up to 100 gross tons (GT), which will later be distributed to the fishing villages.

“The bottom line is our fishermen must be taken care of, because they provide protein for the Indonesian nation, they provide protein for Indonesian children,” he said.

Prabowo stressed this attention to fishermen is part of the government’s efforts to strengthen food security while also improving the welfare of coastal communities.

Through the development of fishing villages supported by infrastructure and fishing fleets, the government expressed hope that fishermen’s productivity will increase and Indonesia’s fishery products will become more competitive in the global market.