Caulerpa lentillifera or locally known in Malaysia as ‘laktut’ or ‘latok’ is a type of seaweed that lives in the Indo-Pacific waters.
The unique taste of laktut and its high nutritional value makes it a potential to be commercialized.
Realising this, a group of marine technology researchers from the Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Perlis Branch, Malaysia in collaboration with the Kedah State Fisheries Department have implemented a laktut cultivation project using an in-land culture-based tank system with the fishing community of Kampung Kubang Badak, Langkawi, Malaysia.
The project which started in June 2020 has successfully mentored a total of six residents from the local community. They have been given exposure to ways to preserve and maintain breeding of the algae. Indirectly, the project becomes a new source of income for the fishing community especially families whose income were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Moreover, through the guidance of the researchers, the local community has successfully obtained a cultivation site development grant through the National Food Security Policy programme worth RM50,000.00 from the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries Malaysia.
Rector of UiTM Perlis Branch, Associate Professor Ts. Dr. Shukor Sanim bin Mohd Fauzi, during a recent visit to the project site said he was proud of the success of the project, especially with the commitment from researchers and the local community. He also hoped that this project will be sustained, especially in driving Malaysia towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) namely, SDG 1: No Poverty, SDG 2: Zero Hunger and SDG 14: Life Under Water.