IPB Declares a Resurrection Day of Indonesia’s Agricultural Education
Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) declares April 27 as the Resurrection Day of Indonesia’s Agricultural Education. This declaration was made in the Symposium and Seminar "Supporting Food Sovereignty and Sustainable Energy", as one of activities of the 60 Years of Agricultural Higher Education, Tuesday (1/5) at IPB International Convention Centre, Bogor.
The declaration was signed by Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Suswono, Rector of IPB, Prof.Dr.Ir.Herry Suhardiyanto, MS.C., Ministers in the period of the 80s (Prof. Dr.Ir.Sjarifuddin Baharsjah, Prof.Dr.Ir Yustika Baharsjah), Rector of Brawijaya University, Rector of Jambi University, and 20 Deans of the Faculty of Agriculture throughout Indonesia and Chairman of Professional Associations.
"The Baranangsiang Declaration states the 27th of April, when 60 years ago the first stone was laid the first President of the Republic of Indonesia, Ir. Soekarno, for the construction of the Baranangsiang Campus of IPB, becomes the Resurrection Day of Indonesia’s Agricultural Education," said General Secretary for the 60 years of agricultural education, Dr. Ir. Syarifah Iis Aisha, MSc.Agr., in the seminar.
Meanwhile, in his speech Rector of IPB said in the 60th anniversary of the laying the first stone in the construction of IPB’s Baranangsiang Campus, that Ir. Soekarno affirmed that the problem of food for the people was a matter of life or death. "For this reason I encourage to interpret the speech in the context of Indonesia today with the various present challenges. While in 1952, in his speech Ir. Soekarno could instill Indonesian youth to flock to Bogor to study and enter the higher education of agriculture, the challenges we are facing now is the agricultural development which will give birth to new innovations, in which breakthroughs and ideas focus not only on the cultivating sector but also new approaches that lead us to a concrete increase in the national production," said the rector.
Meanwhile, Minister of Agriculture in his keynote speech said that food sovereignty is the prerequisite for the realization of food security. "To realize the food security, the agricultural land availability is a necessity. Adequate agricultural land for the food production that can meet the food needs of the entire population of the country supported by technological innovations, agricultural infrastructure and skilful human resources is believed to be able to achieve a high degree of food security independently and in sovereignty," said Minister of Agriculture.
According to the Agriculture Minister, the policy of farmland for food has significant implications in the realization of national food sovereignty, which in practice should be integrated with other related laws and the agrarian reform. If the legislative policies of agricultural land stated in the form of government regulation or Acts are integrated in the implementation with other related laws and the agrarian reform, then the food sovereignty would be achieved. "This is because one of the conditions to realize food sovereignty is the availability of land absolutely required for agricultural land," he said. (Mtd)
