Techno-Economics of Seaweed Farming Along the Coasts of Kelantan, East Coast Peninsular Malaysia

Abstract

A Grand Challenge programme was initiated at the University of Malaya under the Equitable Society Research Cluster, to introduce seaweed farming to the coastal communities at Bachok district, Kelantan. Cultivation trials of selected commercial seaweeds like Kappaphycus (source of carrageenan), Gracilaria (source of agar), Gelidium (source of agar and pulp) and Ulva (salad) will be conducted using onshore and offshore systems, and the data collected is used for the techno-economics analysis. This paper discusses the techno-economics of various cultivation systems, as well as the importance of community empowerment, as a guide to the formulation of a roadmap for the integration of seaweed farming into the Bachok coastal communities. Abstrak Satu Program Grand Challenge telah dimulakan dibawah Kluster Penyelidikan Equitable Society di Universiti Malaya bagi memperkenalkan pengkulturan rumpair laut kepada komuniti persisiran pantai di daerah Bachok, Kelantan. Percubaan pengkulturan rumpair laut terpilih seperti Kappaphycus (sumber carrageenan), Gracilaria (sumber agar), Gelidium (sumber agar dan pulpa) dan Ulva (salad) akan dilaksanakan dengan menggunakan sistem tepi pantai (on-shore) dan luar pantai (off-shore), dan data-data yang dikumpulkan ini digunakan dalam analisis tekno-ekonomi. Makalah ini membincangkan teknoekonomi bagi pelbagai sistem pengkulturan serta kepentingan pemberdayaan komuniti, sebagai panduan kepada perumusan pelan hala tuju untuk mengintegrasikan pengkulturan rumpair laut ke komuniti pesisiran pantai Bachok.

Impact of organizational characteristics on employees’ entrepreneurial orientation with mediating role of knowledge process capabilities and moderating role of psychological factors in the era of COVID-19

“…This will also prove that the companies are mindful, thus improving their execution and strength. Hence, by adopting best manufacturing practices, these companies can improve their business execution and organizational resources, thus creating new work opportunities and growing the manufacturing industry as a whole ( Ali et al, 2017 ; Testaverde et al, 2017 ; Mufti et al, 2020 ) on the top of improving the country’s economic progress ( Phang et al, 2017 ). The manufacturing situation does not show a good sign for the nation’s economy.…”

Migrant Workers in the Seaweed Sector in Sabah, Malaysia

“…Under the policy, by 2020, the government aimed to “capitalize on Malaysia’s competitive advantage” (Safari, 2015, p. 1) and raise seaweed production to 900,000 metric tonnes, which could be equal to approximately 1.4 billion Malaysian ringgit (approximately USD 344.76 million) (Safari, 2015). Studies on seaweed farming in Malaysia have paid considerable attention to the macro-level commercialization of seaweed production (Nor et al, 2017; Phang et al, 2017) as well as the biological aspects of different categories of seaweed, the sizes of species, and their industrial usage (Phang, 2010; Yong et al, 2015). Although Malaysia is the third-largest international seaweed carrageenan producer—20,297 tons of dried seaweed in 2016—the seaweed sector has faced ethnic tensions between indigenous growers and migrant workers, which has resulted in a poor understanding of the sector (Nor et al, 2020).…”