Indonesia as a large archipelago with an area of 192 million Ha has 80% of small farmers who own land less than 1 ha and 28 million households with 11.1 million have no land. As many as 50% of the 13 million hectares of food producers (rice) in Java and 50% of farmers are only 21% of the total agricultural land.
“Based on the data, community empowerment needs to be conducted. Communities can be empowered to manage local potentials to achieve prosperity,” said Vice Dean for Research, Community Service, and Collaboration of Faculty of Animal Science (FAS) UGM, Bambang Suwignyo, S.Pt., M.P., Ph.D. when delivering training to participants in the Work-Based Academic in-class training, Monday (1/10) at FAS UGM.
According to Bambang, there are four aspects in the community development process, namely community recovery, capacity building, local resource management, and network development. “The four aspects are carried out simultaneously, not only when the project works,” the lecturer at the Laboratory of Forage and Pasture Animal Feed said.
After the four aspects are applied, the adoption process can begin to achieve the desired sustainable conditions. “The favorable conditions are those closest to long term objective,” Bambang said.
Bambang explained, there are three conditions that are expected, namely to satisfy individuals, families and communities, be able to improve the environment, and beneficial for the economy.
Until now, FAS UGM team has empowered the community in several locations, one of which is community empowerment in the southern coastal region. The area has sandy land, salt-containing winds, and no air on the ground. Productivity and income in the area are also low. “The conditions that we overcome are bio mulch, which is plastic mulch made from straw or feed that are no longer be consumed by livestock,” Bambang said. Bio mulch can be an alternative to plastic mulch that is cheaper and environmentally friendly. (Nadia)