MARITIMEPOSTS.COM — The Red-and-White Fishermen’s Village Program (Kampung Nelayan Merah Putih, or KNMP) is not solely focused on developing fisheries infrastructure, but is also part of an effort to drive economic transformation in coastal villages.
The transformation is expected to strengthen food self-sufficiency, enhance the competitiveness of fisheries products, and improve the welfare of fishers.
At the KNMP site in Tongke-Tongke, Sinjai Regency, Central Sulawesi, the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) is working in synergy with the Ministry of Cooperatives, the Ministry of Finance, and BP BUMN to ensure that existing production facilities, ranging from a jetty and ice plant to cold storage facilities, are managed professionally through cooperatives.
The success of the program is measured by increased fisheries production and product quality, greater cost efficiency, broader market access, job creation, and higher fisher incomes.
The operational trial of KNMP Tongke-Tongke from May to August 2026 showed several positive developments. Average fisher income increased by 76.2 percent, from approximately IDR 2.6 million to IDR 4.6 million per fisher per month.
During the same period, tuna prices also increased from around IDR 30,000 to IDR 45,000 per kilogram. The operational trial also created 39 jobs, while 80 cooperative members became involved in the KNMP ecosystem.
Another development has been the growing connection between local production and wider markets. From KNMP Tongke-Tongke, tuna shipments have been made five times, involving a total volume of 65 tonnes with a value of approximately IDR 2.54 billion.
Previously, tuna was marketed through Makassar in whole-fish form. It is now processed into tuna loin and shipped directly to Jakarta. This arrangement has generated shipping cost savings of approximately IDR 1.5 million per shipment.
These achievements indicate that KNMP infrastructure development is not only aimed at increasing the quantity and quality of fisheries production at the upstream level, but is also beginning to promote downstream processing and shorten the marketing chain.
Following developments in Samber-Binyeri Village in Biak and KNMP Tongke-Tongke, similar economic transformation is expected to take place across other fishing villages participating in the KNMP program throughout Indonesia.
Editor K. Azis
