ICTs Supports Agricultural Development in Indonesia

The Palawija Forum article  reports on the implementation of ICTs to support agriculture in Indonesia. Agriculture is a key sector which accounts for 31.7% the country’s labour-force.

Therefore, the investment in ICT in the agricultural sector supports the economic development and poverty reduction as well as a strategy for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The article notes that ICTs play a role in crop production within the following stages, (i) pre-cultivation; (ii) crop cultivation and harvesting; and (iii) post-harvest. This is particularly important for Indonesian farmers; for they are 44,000 extension workers for 72,000 potential agricultural villages against an ideal situation of 1 extension worker per village.

The Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture received support from the World Bank in 2007-2013 to develop a farmer empowerment project – Farmer Empowerment through Agricultural Technology and Information (FEATI). The potential for ICTs usage is high in Indonesia as statistics show an increasing number of cell phone subscriptions.

After the investment of the FEATI, the following lessons were learnt:-

• ICT can be used as a strategic tool to support agricultural development at each stage of the farming life cycle.
• ICT can help in early warning of pests and disease outbreaks, and providing information on cropping calenders and providing information of food stocks.
• Capacity-building for extension workers in utilising the ICT in agriculture is needed

Read this article to learn more on FEATI