How FisTx Solve the Core Problem of Shrimp Farms Through Technology

It's no secret that the aquaculture industry in Indonesia is full of classic issues, making it not as sexy as other real and non-real industries. These constraints affect the running of aquaculture activities in this country. In fact, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization, Indonesia is ranked 2nd out of the top 10 countries for aquaculture production.

Even though it is in the top position, the total amount of aquaculture production in this country is very much different from China. In 2019, aquaculture production in China was 68,42 million tons per year, while Indonesia's was 15,89 million tons. In fact, the length of China's coastline that can be used for cultivation is only 14.500 km, while Indonesia's is 99.083 km.

Kiwi Aliwarga and Rico Wibisono, with a deep background in the world of aquaculture, tried to solve this classic issue by establishing FisTx (read Fistek) in Yogyakarta in 2019. Kiwi himself is a successful diaspora entrepreneur building a business in Myanmar. In the startup scene, Kiwi built UMG Idealab which is the investment arm of UMG Myanmar. Its portfolio is spread across the region, not only in Indonesia, starting from Aruna, Crowde, Botika, Prosehat, My Nurse, Arutala, and others.

Meanwhile, Rico Wibisono has had an interest in the world of fisheries since he was a child until he finally went to college. Then, he entered this industry by working for various companies in CP Prima, Manggalindo, and several projects outside Indonesia, namely in Vietnam, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and Brunei Darussalam working on shrimp pond projects.

"Our interest in the world of aquaculture has led us to develop sustainable fisheries technology focusing on 3P (profit, people, planet)," explained FisTx Co-founder and COO Rico Wibisono DailySocial.id.

FisTx Innovation

FisTx highlights at least four challenges in this area shrimp pond cultivation, namely pond management, operations, ponds, and nature, for example selecting pond locations that are prone to natural disasters, such as tsunamis and earthquakes. Therefore, FisTx focuses on developing technology for shrimp cultivation in a more sustainable water improvement process.

Example mobile water sterilizer which is an environmentally friendly disinfection technology with ultraviolet light. This technology does not produce residue when compared to chemicals and can even reduce disinfectant costs by 35% -53%. This tool can also be used as water treatment unit.

Then, developing the Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS), namely technology with a plot pond concept for an intensive cultivation system using water continuously, so that the quality of the water in the main pond is maintained, saving water use and water replacement costs. This product is similar to an aquarium, the pool water is not thrown away but is filtered continuously. The water in the pool can be conserved and used sustainably with the filtration system that the company has developed.

Next, present technology for feed additives to increase nutrient absorption, resulting in faster growth and less waste. “All of this technology is directed at sustainability and the welfare of farmers. Process Development"It depends on the availability of resources and market needs, some are three to eight months."

An application called FisTx Aquagram is also provided which farmers can use to monitor pond conditions directly from their cell phones. The application is a water quality measuring technology that can record water quality directly real-time, not only for one pond plot but also monitoring four plots at once. Farmers will obtain information regarding the duration of feeding, the interval between feeding, oxygen levels, and the temperature and acidity level of the water.

In one sensor device, it is capable of measuring various indicators. Some of them are pool water temperature, EC, pH value, DO (Dissolved Oxygen or dissolved oxygen level) and ORP (Oxidation Reduction Potential). All this data will appear in the FisTx application in one click.

From the entire product range, FisTx adapts to the needs of farmers. It provides FisTx 360 which is a subscription system to help with all cultivation needs, accompanying farmers with consultation and pond management during one cycle, from preparation to harvest. "But we also provide a buy-out system, especially for our consumers who have not been reached by the offline team, but we are still open to consultation online. "

Rico admits that the educational process in introducing the Fistx solution cannot be taken lightly. Because positive interest has only been received by the company, if the location of the pond and the personality of the farmers are seen from their psychology and psychographics. Therefore, when entering a new location the company takes a strategy of searching early adopting and guarded until a satisfactory harvest appears.

"From there it happened word-of-mouth branding, here's what we did in answering that. Alhamdulillah"To date, we have 340 farmers spread across 21 provinces."

One company that has used FisTx technology is PT Nayottama Kelola Laut Indonesia (NKLI). Initially, NKLI used the existing Aqua Input technology since 2021 and experienced a regular increase in pond yields from 18 tons to 51 tons per hectare or an increase of almost three times.

Then, NKLI upgrade the latest RAS FisTx technology for cultivation ponds located in Tasikmalaya, West Java, last January 2021. Apart from being environmentally friendly, other benefits obtained from using RAS technology are increasing productivity, minimizing the problem of shrimp dying prematurely, and saving up to 30% when compared to using chemicals such as chlorine. Daily production is faster, growth rates increase by an average of around 20%, with feed efficiency up to 23,5%.

Hope in aquaculture

Rico assesses that the solution developed by FisTx can actually be implemented outside shrimp farms, such as for crabs, eels, lobsters and eels. This has become the company's next mission, although the main focus currently is still on shrimp cultivation.

“Indonesia's fisheries potential is extraordinary and we will give the same rights to every other species to be cultivated widely. [..] it is a great gift for us to be able to develop local species that have high demand, so that we can advance the coast like the maritime civilization left by our ancestors. Through this culture, we want to repeat the glory of coastal civilization."

Currently, FisTx is supported by 19 people, divided into four people Sales offline, three Sales Aqua Input, and one sales projects. The company will continue to add teams, especially for the technical and expert sections, so that the FisTx solution can be more massively adopted by many farmers in Indonesia. Although not explained in detail, FisTx has been supported by investment support from UMG Idealab, a company also led by Kiwi.

“This year we are focusing on two things, namely: basis for targets you can profit in 2023 and do Branding," concluded Rico.