Fifteen correctional officers from 5 penitentiaries in Indonesia attended the training course on “Urban Farming, Aquaponic, and Mushroom Cultivation for Correctional Officers” jointly conducted by BIOTROP and Yayasan Indonesia Inisiatif Biru Lestari (WAIBI) on 10-11 August 2015 at the Centre’s headquarter in Bogor. This training course was aimed to increase the knowledge and skills of the participants in aquaponic and mushroom cultivation for implementation in their respective penitentiaries. They are expected to transfer their training experiences to their inmates to enable them to become productive citizens after their release from the penitentiary.

WAIBI is a non-governmental organization which is concerned with providing solutions to socio-economic and environmental issues including provision of livelihood to inmates. WAIBI and BIOTROP believe that farming is a good approach to inmate rehabilitation and, at the same time, could enhance their livelihood opportunities after serving their term in the penitentiary. Aquaponic and mushroom cultivation are considered as efficient farming methods in maximizing available land in the urban context and could also provide  promising business opportunities.

Gracing the opening program were BIOTROP's Board of Directors; Dr. Anang Nugraha, Head of the Center for International Cooperation and Inter-Agency Analysis of the  Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries; Mr. Wahyu Hidayat,WAIBI Director; Drs Imam Suydi, Director of Directorate of Convict Community Development and Custody Sevices; and Mr. Austin Stankus and Mr. Edoardo Pantanella, FAO specialist and consultant on freshwater aquaculture, respectively. Dr. Anang officially opened the training course. Mr. Stankus and Mr. Pantanella were among the resource persons.

During the opening ceremony, BIOTROP and WAIBI signed a Memorandum of Understanding on conducting research, capacity building and information exchange activities on Agro-ecology and Blue Economy.

The training was also supported by the Center for International Cooperation and Inter-agency Analysis of the Indonesia Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries and the Directorate of Convice Community Development and Custody Services.

Dr Nur Bambang Priyo Utomo, BIOTROP’s affiliate scientist on aquaculture, served as the  training coordinator.