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Seaweed Cultivation in South Sulawesi
The seaweed industry in South Sulawesi has caught the attention of Australian researchers, deemed more advanced and potentially serving as a model for development in Australia.
Madeleine Grist from the Australian Department of Agriculture, who has visited the seaweed industry hub in South Sulawesi, stated that overall Indonesia produces about 66 percent of hydrocolloid seaweed, including carrageenan seaweed.
"Carrageenan acts as a gelling agent, widely used in pharmaceuticals, and can be found in vegan ice cream as a gelatin substitute," Madeleine told ABC News.
Madeleine hopes that from her visit to South Sulawesi, she can bring knowledge and experience back to Australia, which is also developing seaweed cultivation.
"Compared to Australia, the seaweed industry in Indonesia is more advanced," she said.
The seaweed cultivated in South Sulawesi is a species that requires warmer water than in Australia. Data from the Australia-Indonesia Centre states that more than a third of Indonesia's seaweed supply and 11% of global supply come from South Sulawesi.
This industry is deemed crucial for South Sulawesi, with over 35,000 households relying on seaweed cultivation as their livelihood.
Scott Spillias, a University of Queensland student researching seaweed, explained that expanding seaweed cultivation could help reduce demand for land-based agricultural products. Alongside his team, Scott found that seaweed cultivation could reduce greenhouse gas emissions from global agriculture by up to 2.6 billion tons of CO2 equivalent per year.
"Just as we process corn or soybeans, we can also process seaweed to extract specific nutrients or proteins, such as for animal feed," he explained.
"We can also use it to produce biofuels like ethanol or biodiesel," Scott added.
Vast Cultivation Land Potential
Seaweed is a low-value plant with high-value potential, driving scientists to enthusiastically develop its cultivation.
"Our analysis indicates that about 650 million hectares of ocean are suitable for seaweed cultivation. That's equivalent to 2 percent of the total ocean area," Scott explained.
In Australia, many native seaweed species exist, but unlike land plants like wheat, seaweed hasn't received much attention. Meanwhile, in Indonesia, seaweed cultivation has provided diverse income sources for communities, particularly in the farming industry.
"Seaweed farmers in Indonesia generate more income compared to fisherfolk. Processing doesn't require mechanization; most is still done by hand," said Madeleine.
In his research, Scott estimated environmental benefits from various seaweed production scenarios. Considering factors such as land use changes, greenhouse gas emissions, water and fertilizer usage, and projected changes in species prevalence by 2050, he identified potential benefits from expanding seaweed production.
"In one scenario where we replace 10 percent of human food sources with seaweed products, we can avoid land use for agriculture covering an area of 110 million hectares," he explained. -- Source: Seaweed Network (Translated)
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