Makassar, S Sulawesi (ANTARA) - Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian said the Tourism Alley (Longwis) program implemented by the Makassar City Government could become a pilot program for regional innovation.
"I am proud of the (implementation of) Lorong Wisata concept, initiated by Mayor of Makassar Moh Ramdhan Pomanto," he said here on Saturday, while visiting one of the tourism alleys in the city, Sydney Tourism Alley in Tallo Sub-district, along with a number of regional heads.
The minister noted that the Longwis program encouraged the residents to become independent by practising urban farming at the alleys.
During the visit, he saw chili, tilapia fish, and lobster farming as well as local culinary delights production.
He has expected that the urban farming concept can also be emulated by other regions to resolve their food problems, especially the ones that experience inflation due to lack of supplies of chili.
Pomanto has stated that Longwis is a multi-stakeholder innovation program that empowered the community and encouraged the establishment of local independent entrepreneurship.
For instance, the community living around Sydney Alley did not come to market to buy food commodities anymore since they already practiced urban farming, he noted.
The people had even gained profits from selling the cultivated fish every three months, he continued.
The mayor said that by involving the community in the Longwis program, the people could get useful knowledge on urban farming and practice it as their livelihood.
“…(by participating in Longwis program) even common people can describe the process of lobster and maggot cultivation, it is what makes community involvement extraordinary,” he remarked.
Regarding the Home Affairs Minister’s suggestion for the Longwis to become a pilot program, the mayor has said that his party is ready to assist if the ministry truly makes the program as a pilot.
He has stated that his party will also disseminate the implementation of the Longwis program to other regional governments during the implementation of 2023 National Coordination Meeting of Association of Indonesian Municipalities (Apeksi) scheduled to be hosted by Makassar City on July 11-14.
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The visit to the tourism alley was a series of the Commemoration of XXVII Regional Autonomy Day 2023. During this event, 558 regional heads from various regions throughout Indonesia visited 12 tourism alleys.
Currently, there are 1,700 tourism alleys in Makassar City.