YOGYAKARTA- The volcanic eruption some time ago has threatened various economic activities in the area around Merapi. Eruption has even led to total losses in productive business, including fisheries in disaster-prone zone at the radius of 20 km from the Merapi summit. One of the eruptions affected is the mina fish farmer group called KPI Mina at Burikan in Mlati, Sleman regency.
To help solve these problems, the Department of Fisheries in Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Gadjah Mada with Bank of Indonesia, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry of Sleman District have conducted mentoring program and develop a cluster of freshwater fish.
"The freshwater fish cluster development actually is one of the responses to encourage rapid recovery of fisheries from Merapi eruption in 2010," said one facilitator of the Department of Fisheries in Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Suadi, S.Pi., M.Sc., Ph.D, on Tuesday (14/2). Other facilitators from UGM are Ir. Ign. Hardaningsih, M.Si and Fuad Nursef Ghozali, S.Pi., M.Si.
Suadi described that sustainable development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) often faced constraints such as continuity of production, quality and quantity of products, market access limitations and unqualified business manager. The problems were also faced by this group.
Freshwater Fisheries Cluster program at KPI Mina, Suadi said, has been designed to be implemented in 2 (two) phases. In the first phase, activity focused on the facilitation of supporting group activities and assistance. The activity carried out include the provision of physical assistance as a priority to support the program, namely the parking lot and manufacture of irrigation channels.
The second phase in 2012 will focus on efforts to increase the number and quality of fish production, market and institutional strengthening of the group, inclusion of women and encouraging access to financing sources.
"We start from the preparation of support facility, assistance and improving the production of fish," said Suadi.
In the meantime, Ir. Ign. Hardaningsih, M.Sc. said further development of the group is by applying effective way of fish farming (CBIB). Fish hatchery business segments need to be controlled by group members in order to take advantage of market demand in this segment which continues to increase.
The development of hatchery activities in the future requires a hatchery facility that is run together to increase the income of the members and the group," said Hardaningsih.
Hardaningsih added marketing is an activity that becomes the primary domain of KPI Mina. This group has developed a unique marketing concept of "producing what the market needs, not just selling what is produced". She gave an overview in the year 2011 the value of sales in the group market continued to increase with the total value of almost 1.5 billion. This value has an average increase of 7.7% per year in the period 2006-2011. However, due to the eruption by the end of 2010, there was a decline compared to the previous year in total sales value at 10%.
The values improved substantially in 2011, which rose by 26.2% of the total value of 2010, or an increase in the aggregate amounting to Rp 310.8 million between 2010 and 2011.
"This shows the capability of rapid recovery in fisheries after the eruption. In fact, the fish sale value of KPI Mina rose from Rp75.9 million at the peak of Merapi eruption in December 2010 to Rp111.9 million in the next month," Hardaningsih concluded.