This study is composed on the basis of a contract with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, with the objective to investigate the implications for the development of a pilot project of Giant Freshwater Prawn (Macrobrachium Rosenbergii) culture in Lampung.
This project will constitute a pilot to study various possibilities and problems for developing Giant Freshwater Prawn culture by farmers with guidance from the Government.
This project covers the establishment of a hatchery, in the form of a project management unit within the Directorate General of Fisheries (DGF), and thirty units commercial ponds, which will be managed by farmers.
The financing of this project is planned to be conducted with a loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
In conformity with present Government policy, this brackish water pond shrimp culture project will be related to transmigration efforts, in which the farmers are not directed towards paddy-field activities, but towards other export related activities.
Surveys in this field are conducted by teams from the Directorate General of Fisheries (DGF) and the Management Institute of the Economic Faculty of the University of Indonesia, covering researches from Secondary resources as well as field studies in Lampung.
The Directorate General of Fisheries team is primarily concerned with technical data and the location of this project, whereas the Management Institute of the Economic Faculty of the University of Indonesia will be concerned with aspects on organization, marketing and finance.
Technical aspects of Giant Freshwater Prawn culture are also studied at shrimp cultivation projects in Central Java, in order to obtain an idea on various requirements/conditions needed for such projects.
In formulating the recommendations resulting for this study, the experiences acquired at shrimp projects of the Directorate General of Fisheries in Central Java have been, to a great extent, taken into consideration, as well as the local conditions, which will influence the effectiveness of this Giant Freshwater Prawn Culture project.
