Agrifasco 6th Seminar: Realizing Sustainable Urban Agricultural Production for National Food Security
BANDUNG, itb.ac.id- The ITB Agricultural Engineering Student Association (HIMAREKTA) held a webinar on agricultural sustainability to support food security in Indonesia, Sunday (7/2/2021). Dr. Suwadi M.Si was invited to this webinar as Director-General of Food Crops of the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture, Ir. Afrizal Gindow as Deputy Director Manager of PT East Weed Seed Indonesia (EWINDO).
According to Khalish Muhammad Azka (BA'17), as the Chief of the 6th Agrifasco, this seminar was the culmination of Agrifasco (Agricultural Farming System Competition) events which were preceded by scientific writing competitions and national level infographic competitions for students.
"This seminar is aimed at the general public from various backgrounds, ranging from farmers, agricultural practitioners, academics, to government employees. Initially, we only targeted 300-500 participants involved. Surprisingly, this seminar got quite a lot of enthusiasm until 700 participants attended it, "said Khalish.
The seminar was preceded by a speech by the Dean of SITH ITB, Dr. Endah Sulistyawati then continued with a presentation from Dr. Suwadi. He delivered a presentation on Sustainable Agriculture Production Systems Innovation for National Food Security.
According to him, it is not only rice that can be used as a staple food source for the Indonesian people. Many Indonesian food preparations such as cassava, sorghum, sweet potato, taro, gembili, canna, wheat, corn, and gadung can be used as a source of staple food. "The germplasm that we have is extraordinary; we still need innovation and renewable technology to shift the production curve," said Dr. Suwadi.
Based on the Minister of Agriculture's policy direction, there are five ways of acting to support structural transformation in the agricultural sector, including increasing production capacity such as land development, diversifying local food, strengthening reserves and logistics systems, and developing modern agriculture as developing smart farming. The three times export movement is more often called GRATIEKS.
The second webinar session was filled by Ir. Afrizal Gindow from PT East Weed Seed Indonesia (EWINDO). According to him, the opportunity for agriculture in Indonesia has increased by 2.15% amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which remarks a breakthrough using smart farming.
"In the fourth quarter of 2020, the agricultural sector increased positively by 10%. "We are facing several challenges such as lack of several sectors such as information, markets, machinery, financial services, quality input, and labor," said Afrizal.
Reporter : Diah Rachmawati (Industrial Engineering, 2016)
Translator : Billy Akbar Prabowo (Metallurgical Engineering 2020)
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