IPB Holds Ambassador Forum
Directorate of Strategic Studies and Agricultural Policy, Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) in cooperation with the Directorate of Cooperation and International Programs, Directorate of Research and Innovation and the Graduate Program in Management and Business (MB) held an Ambassador Forum entitled ‘Improving Institutional Aspect of Smallholder Agriculture,’ on Monday (16/12), at IPB campus of Mount Gede, Bogor. IPB Secretary, Dr. Ir. Ibn Qoyyim said, "This Ambassador Forum is a very positive activity to improve agriculture in Indonesia, especially in villages and small farmers".
According to him, the agricultural sector plays a major role in the Indonesian economy system. The agricultural census conducted by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) in 2013 showed that there were 26.13 million households doing farming businesses. These farming businesses are those activities that produce agricultural products with the goal that part or all of their products are sold or exchanged. These farming households are not included into farm workers/laborers. They include food crop, horticulture, plantation, animal husbandry, fisheries and forestry, including agricultural services. Meanwhile, especially food crops (rice and horticulture), despite being not for sale or for self-consumption, remain being considered as a farming business.
Director of Strategic Studies and Agricultural Policy of IPB, Dr. Dodik Ridho Nurrochmat said that the goal of Ambassador Forum is to identify opportunities and challenges of institutional development in Indonesian agricultural farming systems in order to create a strong national agricultural system which leads to prosperous farmers." From this activity, it is expected to form a development framework of the institutional aspects by smallholder agriculture which can then give significant contribution to the government in formulating policies and direction of agricultural development, particularly in the institutional aspects and publications such as news flyers," said Dr. Dodik. Present in this event were Ambassador of Austria, H.E. Mr. Andreas Karabaczek, IPB Academicians, representatives of agriculture minister and students (Mtd)
