Riza Roidila Mufti

The Jakarta Post

Jakarta . 26 June 2018

The Indonesian Farmers Association (HKTI) will host the Asian Agriculture and Food Forum (ASAFF) from June 28 to 30 in Jakarta to try to address various problems faced by farmers in Indonesia and in other Asian countries.

HKTI secretary-general Bambang Budi Waluyo said in Jakarta on Monday that Indonesian farmers currently faced at least five issues in improving their welfare, namely working capital access, high-quality seeds, fertilizers, agricultural technology and efficient distribution.

“We’ll showcase everything about agriculture, starting from the latest agricultural technology to the finest product innovations. Hopefully, it can motivate farmers and revive their spirit to increase agriculture quality and their capacity,” said Bambang.

Meanwhile, ASAFF chairman Winston P. Simanjuntak said one of the agricultural products to be showcased in the forum was genetically modified soybeans grown by a farmer group in Yogyakarta.

“This type of soybean has a competitive price in the market and has [a higher yield]. But it has not been grown [on a massive scale] in Indonesia. Hopefully, with this forum, more farmers will be interested in growing this type of soybean,” said Winston.

Meanwhile, among the innovations that will be showcased include agriculture drones from China, which can help farmers spread seeds and monitor the growth of crop and crop pests.

The event will be attended by representatives of seven countries: Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Iran, India, Timor Lester and Indonesia.

————————————————————————————————————————————–