Indonesia Builds Village Fisheries Economy With Mini RAS Program

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta – The Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries is targeting 40,000 Mini Recirculating Aquaculture System (Mini RAS) sites to be operational by 2029.

Indonesian Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Sakti Wahyu Trenggono said that Mini RAS is intended to increase community productivity while establishing new fisheries business hubs.

This program targets inland areas far from the coast, with initial development in Banten, Lampung, West Java, Central Java, Yogyakarta, and East Java. “These Mini RAS units represent the latest aquaculture technology, which Norway researched for 50 years,” the minister said in Cirebon on Thursday, September 18, 2026, as quoted by Antara.

Each Mini RAS site is projected to produce 30 metric tons of farmed fish per year. West Java has been allocated a target of 5,000 sites. “If each of those 5,000 sites can produce 30 metric tons in a year, that means production could reach 150,000 metric tons per year,” he said.

Assuming a price of IDR 20,000 per kilogram (USD 1.13), this production could generate around IDR 3 trillion per year in value in West Java. This figure illustrates the scale of the economy the government aims to build through village-based aquaculture.

“We will establish these projects in every village, with approximately 40,000 sites across Indonesia by 2029,” said Minister Trenggono, adding that his ministry is also developing a value chain that encompasses seeds, feed, aquaculture, and the processing of fishery products, while promoting supporting industries.

The development of these Mini RAS systems is expected to create an integrated fisheries ecosystem at the village level. This strategy positions aquaculture technology as the foundation for increasing production while simultaneously creating new economic activities in the region. ***