Farmer Regeneration Crisis, KKNT IPB University Students Invite Mekarsari Villagers to Digitalise Agriculture

Mekarsari Village, Pacet Sub-district, Bandung Regency, West Java has a vast expanse of agricultural land and has various potentials in agriculture. The main commodity in Mekarsari Village is rice, in addition to several vegetable commodities such as mustard greens and corn.

The largest agricultural commodity in Mekarsari Village is located in RW 06, many of its residents are farmers. However, many farmers complain that the regeneration of farmers is still lacking. In the end, many of them use farm labourers from outside the village, which results in little profit from the harvest.

“The problem faced in RW 06 is agricultural regeneration and young people do not want to become farmers,” said Mamat as the Chief of RW 06.

Answering these problems, students of IPB University’s Innovation Real-Thematic Work Lecture (KKNT) in Mekarsari Village ran a work programme called ‘TANZ: Tani Zaman Now’.  This counselling aims to introduce and train the community, especially generation Z, in the use of the Digitani application.

“This activity is one of the efforts to advance agriculture in Mekarsari Village. We hope that young people here will not be shy and have a passion for farming so that they can continue and increase agricultural productivity in Mekarsari Village,” said Laila, a member of the KKNT Inovasi team.

The activity began with an explanation of Digitani as an agricultural consulting application that provides practical guidance and solutions. This was followed by a demonstration of the application, from how to download to utilising the main features of Digitani.

Taking place in one of the madrasas in Mekarsari Village, the event was attended by 32 residents, consisting of the Chief of RW 06, Chief of Sari Mekar Farmer Group KH Bubun, farmers and young people of Mekarsari Village.

“This counselling event is very good for farmers in RW 06 in an effort to advance agriculture in Mekarsari Village,” said the Chief of RW 06. (*/Rz) (IAAS/RUM)