Kaltara Is Ready To Become A Supplier Of Seaweed Needs For Other Countries

TARAKAN – The potential for seaweed cultivation in North Kalimantan (Kaltara) is increasingly promising.

Not only meeting national needs, Kaltara is ready to become a supplier of seaweed needs for other countries.

To maximize it, we need a container as a support such as establishing a cooperative.

Through the inauguration of the Multi-stakeholder Cooperative (KMP) 'Kaltara Di Hati', it is hoped that the movement to use local products will not only shine in the country.

However, it is able to compete in foreign countries by improving and maintaining quality standards. This will have an impact on the selling value of seaweed.

The Governor of Kaltara Zainal Arifin Paliwang welcomed the establishment of KMP Kaltara Di Hati which is involved in the seaweed business.

According to him, group members in the KMP have voting rights. In contrast to conventional cooperatives.

"So the uniqueness of KMP lies in the grouping of its membership. This grouping is different from conventional cooperatives, which are usually grouped based on territory or other considerations," he explained to reporters, Friday, June 17.

With the establishment of KMP Kaltara Di Hati, it will be able to speed up the export process. No need to go through other cities like Makassar or Surabaya. But from Bumi Benuanta (Kaltara, ed) go straight to the destination country.

"Because some of the leading fishery and marine commodities, one of which is seaweed, must first be crossed through other cities outside Kaltara before being exported," he explained again.

For information, in 2021 the total production of seaweed in Kaltara will reach 627,875.45 tons of the 9,662.22 hectares of seaweed cultivation area.

This figure is evidence of the great potential of seaweed in Kaltara.

Therefore, Governor Zainal appreciated the operation of KMP Kaltara Di Hati and was very proud of the implementation of the first seaweed export which was carried out directly from Tarakan City.

Of course, it needs to be accompanied by direct education to farmers in terms of cultivation to packaging.

"So that in the end the economy in Kaltara will continue to run in a positive direction and can prosper the community," he explained.

After this, later the seaweed harvest in Kaltara which will be exported will have a trademark.

So prospective buyers or other parties out there will know that the seaweed comes from Kaltara.

Because, seaweed from Kaltara is one of the best seaweed in Indonesia.

"We hope that if Kaltara's goods come out, we should give it a brand, if necessary, we will register it and be registered as one of the brands in Kaltara, so that the people of Kaltara are proud," he concluded.

To note, last October 2021, the Indonesian Ministry of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises (UKM) issued the Regulation of the Minister of SME Cooperatives (Permenkop) number 8 of 2021 concerning cooperatives with a multi-stakeholder model. This Permenkop is a path towards a new milestone in the cooperative model in Indonesia that is different from conventional cooperatives.

Multi-Party Cooperative or KMP is a cooperative that aims to build the prosperity of the people in Indonesia, such as the people in North Kalimantan.

KMP has a model of grouping its members based on economic interests, business linkages, potential and needs of members. In addition, it can run all types of businesses.