"The focus on seaweed cultivation will be made by five ministries and Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) to speed up economic development in disadvantaged regions," State Minister for Disadvantaged Regions Ahmad Helmi Faisal Zaini said here on Thursday.
He said the five ministries were Ministry of Disadvantaged Regions, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry, Industry Ministry, Trade Ministry, and the Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Ministry.
The cooperation among the five ministries and BKPM was marked with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) before Vice President Boediono here on Thursday.
It was said in such a cooperation, the Ministry of Disadvantaged Regions will provide the seaweed farmers with data, information, location, action plan, and and financing systems.
Meanwhile, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry will play its role to do the coaching, education training, elucidation, technical guidance, quality assurance system, and marketing.
And the role of Industry Ministry is to to give technical assistance and develop seaweed industry, to increase human resources capacity, to develop product packaging, and to give guidance and implementation of Indonesian National Standard (SNI) system.
In the cooperation, Trade Ministry will play its role to make familiarization and promotion, to provide market information and data, to organize seaweed-related exhibition at regional, national and international levels, and to facilitate the marketing of seaweed products.
The Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Ministry will facilitate the formation of seaweed farmer cooperative, to provide seaweed commodity production facility, to manage the seaweed commodity processing and marketing, and facilitate the availability of capital from financial institutions.
While the BKPM will facilitate the investment in seaweed development.(*)
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Editor: Jafar M Sidik
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
