Menristek/Ka BRIN Visits IPB University, Optimistic Agriculture Product Can Compete in a Global Scale
The Minister of Research and Technology’s Head of National Research and Innovation Body (Menristek/Ka BRIN), Prof Bambang PS Brodjonegoro is optimistic that Indonesian agriculture products can compete in a global scale. This was said after visiting Science Techno Park (STP) and Agribusiness and Technology Park (ATP), IPB University located in Cikarawang, Dramaga, Bogor (23/1). In his visit to ATP, Prof Bambang also got the chance to meet directly with partnering farmers and listed to partnerships programs done between farmers and ATP.
“The concept of partnership applied between partnered farmers and ATP is very interesting. Farmers receive superior seeds from ATP to plant in their land. Cultivation yields include fruits and vegetables collected by ATP to be marketed to supermarkets. This method benefits both parties involved. The government is proud and hopes positive activities like this will continue, beneficial partnerships like this needs to be kept up and also improved so that farmers can be helped and gain the positive benefits,” he proclaims.
In this opportunity, a partnered farmer for vegetable products named Febri, told Prof Bambang that this partnership done between farmers and ATP has gone well. Farmers receive guidance in every step of cultivation, from planting seeds, growing, fertilization to harvest. The result is also received by ATP, so that farmers don’t need to sell their products to the markets themselves.
“There is a problem in capital to develop products from yield crops because the proses of farming is still very much conventional,” he says. For that, Prof Bambang hopes that in the future IPB University can introduce farmers with more modern planting methods like greenhpuse to minimize losses cause by rain. He expresses that from a financial standpoint, Prof Bambang hopes IPB University can strengthen this with a plasma core system. IPB University can also increase buying prices by partnering with bigger distributors so they can buy more products from farmers, for the goal of increasing farmer profits. (IAAS/RCD)
