Indonesia’s agricultural development has been delayed for years as the country struggles to improve technology and human resources in the sector, a situation that experts and farmers believe will make it difficult to effectively safeguard the country’s food security.
AA Gede Agung Wedatama, founder of the Bali-based Cool Young Farmers (PMK) community, said the traditional farming system widely adopted in Indonesia can produce only five tonnes of rice per hectare of land, while in countries with more advanced technology the same amount of land can produce up to 15 tonnes.
PMK was launched in 2019 with an aim to encourage young people to get involved in technology-based organic gardening.
“Compared with other countries such as Japan, the Netherlands and Australia, our agricultural technology development is about 20 years behind and we need to catch up,” he said. The Jakarta Post On Thursday.
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He further said that smart agriculture, smart irrigation systems, precision agriculture and artificial intelligence (AI) could effectively reduce production costs in these countries, leading to higher profits and ultimately improved welfare for smallholder farmers.
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But in Indonesia, farmers face high production costs and low profitability.
