Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Sakti Wahyu Trenggono expressed his concern about the condition of research in Indonesia, especially in the marine and fisheries sector.
Trenggono cited that the merger of the Eijkman Molecular Biology Research Center into the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) has resulted in the loss of many Indonesian researchers who are now being recruited by neighboring countries.
“Eijkman is already advanced in terms of health. Now it is combined into one in BRIN. What happens is that our researchers are taken by neighboring countries. We are not advancing, but instead regressing,” Trenggono said in his presentation at the Diponegoro University in Semarang, Central Java, on Friday, December 27, 2024.
Trenggono also mentioned that the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries previously had 1,300 researchers, most of whom have now switched after the formation of BRIN. As a result, research on marine and fisheries ecosystems in Indonesia is increasingly lagging behind other countries.
“The researchers are all taken. What is happening now is that our research is being neglected,” he said.
In addition to losing researchers, Trenggono highlighted the lack of funding for research. According to him, research costs in Indonesia are only Rp14 million (US$860) per project, a very small amount compared to the complex research needs.
This condition, he continued, makes it difficult for universities that do not have sufficient funding to carry out research independently. To that end, he emphasized the need for cooperation between ministries, institutions, academics, and private actors to strengthen national research, especially in the marine and fisheries sector.
He encouraged closer collaboration to ensure that research can continue to be carried out even with limited resources.
“I think this is what must be resolved. Cooperation with campuses must continue. Research in the marine and fisheries sector must be a priority going forward,” Trenggono concluded.
