Introducing Empowerment Strategy As A Way-Out For Salt Farming Industry In Rembang Regency-Indonesia

Rembang is considered as one of the salt production centrum in Central Java province. It lies in the eastern-north of Java sea coast. Within a year farmers usually produce with rotation traditional farming system to produce salt and the brackish water aquaculture commodities (either milkfish and/ or shrimp). The salt production in this study area is mosly used for industry since less in quality for consumption purposes. Many efforts had been put on to improve the salt-farming, but can not achieve the maximum target. This is due to the advanced technology for salt-farming system (such as using fondation technique) stipulates the pond solely used for salt production throughout a year. However, farmers in Rembang used to share the pond for milkfish and/ or shrimp production within a year. The study is aimed to formulate the possible empowerment strategy to improve the salt production. Further, Cost and returns (C/R) and value chains analyes (VCA) have been applied to ascertain which commodities should be given a priority between salt and aquaculture production. The study invoked a mixed-method of quantitative-and-qualitative to answer the objectives posed. In-depth interview and focus group discussion with key-persons and informants were carried out for data collection. The study found that farmers? role were more considered as the price taker more in salt production compare than in milkfish or shrimp. Moreover, the margin of value chains from salt seems to be less favourable to the farmers. In facts, milkfish and/ or shrimp production is just accounted as a complimentary routine activities to complete a year farming system. Thereafter, this study suggests to re-structure the farming system management practiced in the study area thru empowering the farmers; and improvement in institutional set up for agribusiness in salt industry.