President Targets 1,000 Fishing Village Fishing Villages to Operate This Year

JAKARTA - President Prabowo Subianto targets the development of 1,000 Red and White Fishing Villages/Villages throughout Indonesia by 2026 as part of a major plan for 5,000 fishing villages by 2029.

This was conveyed by President Prabowo in his speech when attending the Indonesia Economic Outlook 2026 which was held at the Wisma Danantara Indonesia Auditorium, Jakarta, on Friday.

"Our target for 2026 will be 1,000 (fishing villages) and then a total of 2029, our target is 5,000 fishing villages," said the President.

President Prabowo said that fishermen had never received attention from the government since Indonesia was established. In his government, he was committed to strengthening the marine sector, one of which was through fishing villages.

Later, each fishing village will be equipped with an ice factory, a place to cool seafood, a pier, a boat, and operational vehicles to ensure that the distribution chain of catches runs efficiently.

The Head of State emphasized that this program was not a free assistance, but was managed in a cooperative scheme.

"This is not a handout, we are not distributing this, we are an organization in a cooperative, all their expenses will be paid back to banks and the government," explained the President.

The President stated that fishermen would be given flexibility in the return of investments so as not to burden them. This financing scheme is considered fair, considering that large businesses often get credit restructuring.

Fishermen can return their investments within 10 to 12 years. According to him, this is quite fair because large entrepreneurs often ask for relief for up to a dozen years.

"Big businessmen also sometimes ask for credit for dozens of years. Even then, they often ask for restructuring," he said.

In addition to the development of fishing villages, the President also highlighted the acceleration of the establishment of the Red and White Cooperative which will be the driving force of the village economy.

In the near future, hundreds of cooperatives are targeted to start operating, with a total of nearly 30,000 cooperatives and warehouses that have been in the formation stage. Each cooperative will be equipped with warehouses, cold storage, basic necessities outlets, village clinics, cheap village pharmacies, and micro-financing services with low interest rates to reduce people's dependence on usurers.

The President explained that the funding for the program was sourced from the optimization of village funds that had been rolled out over the past decade.

In the future, the funds will be directed more structured and productive so that they really have a real impact on the community.

This step confirms President Prabowo's vision to make the sea the future of Indonesia's economy where fishing villages are no longer on the fringes of development, but become new centers of growth that are modern, independent, and globally competitive.