Alexandra Langford1,2, Scott Waldron1,2, Syamsul Pasaribu2,3, Nunung Nuryartono2,3, Radhiyah Ruhon4, Zulung Zach4, Imran Lapong4, Risya Arsyi4, Boedi Julianto4 & Irsyadi Siradjuddin4,5.
1School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, 2The Australia-Indonesia Centre, Universitas Hasanuddin, Makassar, Indonesia, 3Faculty of Economics and Management, IPB University, Indonesia, 4PT Jaringan Sumber Daya, Makassar, Indonesia, 5Faculty of Science and Technology, UIN Alauddin University, Indonesia
The Indonesian seaweed industry has grown rapidly over the last twenty years and is largely focussed on the marine cultivation of carrageenan seaweeds. Smallholder farmers dominate the production sector, and these farmers operate in diverse agro-climatic and socio-economic settings. The industry faces issues with inconsistent seaweed product attributes linked to low price-grade differentials. This paper examines how local seaweed marketing systems affect farmer production and post-harvest handling behaviour in two villages in South Sulawesi. It draws on a household survey of 273 seaweed farmers and extensive qualitative research undertaken by four of the authors over twelve months. We show that there are substantial differences in seaweed marketing and farmer access to financial services both between and within study locations. This results in different seaweed production and handling behaviour, leading to different forms of integration into broader seaweed value chains.