“With empowerment, God willing, we can turn hindrances into solutions,” he said at the Exhibition of Ideas and Business Models for Blue Economy Development Innovation in Villages and Underdeveloped Areas with Blue Innovative Startup Acceleration (BISA) in Jakarta on Wednesday.
He noted that of the 75,265 villages in Indonesia, around 20 percent, or nearly 16 thousand villages, are in coastal areas. They offer significant potential for blue economy development, which can improve the village communities' welfare, he added.
He further said that of those 16 thousand villages, nearly 30 percent are still categorized as underdeveloped.
According to Susanto, these villages have remained underdeveloped because their communities have not been able to tap their potential.
He said that mentoring and empowerment from various parties, including village facilitators, village heads, village governments, startups, and even university students, are needed to tackle this issue.
He then cited the example of blue economy innovation involving the use of fish heads as biostimulants in Larantuka, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), which was showcased at the exhibition.
Biostimulants are materials or substances applied to plants or soil to stimulate plants’ natural processes to increase the efficiency of nutrient absorption and improve the quality of crops.
According to the minister, if the same innovation is to be implemented in a remote village, mentoring and empowerment will be necessary.
With these two steps, he said, the community will understand the huge potential of turning fish heads, which are often considered waste, into something of economic value.
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Translator: Tri Meilani, Raka Adji
Editor: Arie Novarina
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