Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto echoed support for millennials farmers under the Millennial Smart Farming Program to boost productivity of the agricultural sector.

“The Millennial Smart Farming Program is expected to enhance the productivity of agricultural goods to improve food security and the nation’s economic recovery,” Hartarto noted in an official statement received here on Friday.

During the review by Minister Hartarto of the agriculture site that applies the smart farming concept in Klaten District, Central Java, he also conversed with one of the millennial farmers identified as Hartoyo.

Hartoyo had earlier worked in Jakarta, though currently he had developed a passion for agriculture as he realized that the income he earns from farming was higher.

He also updated the minister about the automated mechanization of agriculture using applications installed on mobile devices and solar power that he had been using for three months.

He noted that the concept of Smart Farming 4.0 provides a solution for farmers to mitigate the challenges of climate change.

The Millennial Smart Farming Program is implemented for millennial empowerment through the development and mentoring of digital agricultural ecosystems (IoT) from the upstream to downstream sectors, as well as to improve Village Financial Inclusion.

The program aims to implement smart agriculture with digitalization by utilizing the Internet of Things (IoT).

The other objective of this program is to establish an agricultural ecosystem by opening market access to farmers, so their incomes are guaranteed.

Another target is to optimize banking and financial inclusion in the village and strengthen the millennial farmers’ institutions that are run by various stakeholders.

Furthermore, Minister Hartarto, along with Deputy Head of Klaten District and Director of Institutional Relations of BNI, attempted to plant rice using a transplanter, an automatic planting machine.

He noted that the system could produce around six to seven tons per hectare, thereby translating to the fact that in two years, the harvest can double.

Currently, Hartarto remarked that the base price of grain was close to Rp5 thousand, as it is affected by Srinuk, a variety of Klaten’s Rojo Lele rice.

“If (all agriculture sectors) utilize technology, then productivity is expected to be higher, especially when we are already using automatic tools for planting,” he remarked.

Source: Antara News