Prabowo: Fisherman Village Program Makes Income Increase 100 Percent

JAKARTA - Prabowo Subianto revealed the surprising success of the pilot program of the Fisherman Village which doubled fishermen's income by 100 percent of the capital of simple ice and dock production equipment.

"It was extraordinary. I myself was very surprised. I thought maybe 40 percent, 50 percent, but the increase was 100 percent. This is just for fundamental things like ice, and of course facilities for auctioning fish," he said while speaking at Forbes Global CEO Conference 2025 in Jakarta, Wednesday, October 15.

Prabowo explained, the Ministry of Fisheries is building a pilot fishing village model that focuses on providing essential facilities that have been lost, such as simple piers to ice production facilities as sea catchers.

"Many of these villages do not have simple piers. So, we built a dock for them. They don't even have ice. So, we provide financing so they can build small ice production facilities," he said.

With ice blocks available every day, the President said, fishermen's catch fish are back in a fresh state.

In addition, the Fisherman's Village also provides cold storage facilities, electricity and solar panels, social facilities such as clean clinics and good schools for children, facilities for fish auctions.

Seeing the success of the pilot program, President Prabowo is targeting the construction of 1,000 fishing villages by the end of 2026 throughout Indonesia.

The replica of 1,000 fishing villages is estimated to empower 2 million fishermen. If calculated with his wife and two children, this program will directly improve the welfare of around 8 million Indonesians.

To ensure sustainability, said the President, the fishery products from these model villages will be sent to the market through a network that has been established by the Government, namely 81,000 Red and White Village/Sub-District Cooperatives.

Each cooperative will be equipped with warehouses, cold storage, minimarkets, clinics, and provided with financing to buy two distribution trucks, ensuring that the harvest will no longer rot.