IPB University’s Patriot Expedition Team Assists OAP Communities in Animha District with Freshwater Fish Downstream Processing
IPB University’s Patriot Expedition Team (TEP) held a community empowerment training program for Indigenous Papuans (OAP) in Animha District, Merauke Regency, to increase the economic value of local fish catches through a freshwater fish downstream processing strategy.
Dr Adi Hadianto, Chair of the IPB University TEP, explained that the inland waterways and swamps in Animha District harbor an abundance of freshwater fish, such as gabus (gastor), sepat betik, and mujair. However, this potential remains underutilized because the majority of fishermen’s catches are sold fresh at relatively low prices.
“Processing freshwater fish into salted fish offers very promising market prospects, both to meet local demand in Merauke and for shipment to other regions such as Java. In addition to providing training, the team will also assist in forming MSME (micro, small, and medium enterprise) groups and oversee the supply chain to connect producers with buyers,” he said.
Through this training and mentoring program, the OAP community in Animha District is expected to recognize and further explore business opportunities in the freshwater fisheries sector around them. This approach is designed to broaden the OAP’s perspective beyond simply selling fresh catches to becoming producers of high value processed products.
In this program, the OAP community receives hands on, step by step guidance from proper fish-filleting techniques and the correct salting process to maintain quality, to effective sun-drying methods for producing competitive salted fish products.
Message from the District Chair
The presence of TEP 18 IPB University in Animha District goes beyond mere training; it continues through ongoing mentoring. This step is taken to ensure that the OAP community can manage their fisheries potential independently, thereby gaining strong competitiveness and achieving sustainable economic well being.
In her remarks, Animha District Chair Mariny Renyut expressed her hope that the community would continue to learn and strive. She emphasized that mentoring would continue until self reliant MSME groups were formed, ensuring that this initiative does not stop at the training stage but continues to produce processed products with higher market value compared to simply selling raw fish directly.
“The arrival of the Animha Patriot Expedition Team marks the first step in opening opportunities for the OAP community to explore local potential more deeply. Through this training program, the established SME groups will continue to be mentored by the team until they successfully obtain business licenses, such as the Business Identification Number (NIB),” she said.
The guidance provided by the IPB University Patriot Expedition Team is expected to strengthen the skills of the OAP community while encouraging them to independently explore and capitalize on market opportunities. (*/Rz) (IAAS/SSR).
