A Group of IPB Students Designed Android Applications to Connect Fishermen with Investors
A group of students of Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) have initiated to utilize android application as the Investment Forum that bring together fishermen with investors who want to establish partnership programs in Mamuju District, Mamuju Regency, West Sulawesi Province. Through this partnership is expected to increase the economic income of coastal communities, especially fishing communities.
The group of Bogor Agricultural University consisted of Mahsyar Taufiq, and Rizki Nurdin Ash both students of the Department of Fisheries Resources Utilization, of the Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences (FPIK); and Faiz Ahmad Ghozy, student of the Department of Industrial Technology of Agriculture, of the Faculty of Agricultural Technology (FATETA). They collaborated together to implement their idea to create "Find (Fisherman Friends): Strategi Tepat Guna sebagai Upaya Pengembangan Potensi Perikanan dan Kelautan di Kecamatan Mamuju (The Appropriate Strategy as Effort to Develop Fisheries and Marine Potentials of Mamuju Sub-district)".
"This idea came to the group as there is a need to improve the conditions of fisheries resource and poverty condition of fishermen in Mamuju sub-district and the condition of government programs that have not run well in overcoming the problem of fishermen," said Mahsyar.
He said the idea on the utilization android based Find application was to facilitate access to capital and sales of fishery products online. The applications they designed involved fishermen, cooperatives, investors and consumers with systematically designed applications as neatly as possible, so that all people can feel the benefited.
Yet, Mamuju sub-district is selected to be the focus of fishery development as geographically Mamuju sub-district is facing directly with Makassar Strait which has big potential of sea fishery. In addition, it is also one of the suppliers of fish to various areas in West Sulawesi.
"Our research projects carried out in Mamuju District explained that the waters surrounding Mamuju possess a variety of fish such as tuna, skipjack, mackerel, grouper and snapper. Skipjack is the most abundant species of tuna but has been under-exploited in this areas due to lack of advanced fishing technology," Mahsyar said.
Thanks to the idea, Mahsyar and his team who won the 2nd winner of Lomba Karya Tulis Ilmiah (LKTI Scientific Writing Competition) in the 2017 PSP Working Contest at the University of Riau, on 6-8 November 2017. In this stage they have to compete with five other finalists.
Mahsyar expected that their ideas will be implemented as well as getting funding support by government for partnership program and marketing systems by utilizing the Find application. (Wied)
