Population growth, climate change, and people’s consumption habits all have an impact on a nation’s food security. Indonesia has implemented smart farming technology (SFT) in its agriculture sector to address these issues. SFT refers to farm management that makes use of modern information and communication technologies to increase the quantity and quality of products while minimizing the need for human labor. However, due to a lack of resources, SFT implementation in Indonesia is limited.
A study by Agussabati et al. (2022) investigates farmers’ perspectives on the adoption of SFT to support food farming in Aceh Province, Indonesia. SFT implementation in Aceh was made possible by assistance from the public and private sectors. One of the technologies used is an Android-based application that serves as a monitoring tool, weather and soil fertility level sensor, plant pests and diseases detector, communications forum, and commodity market price database.
According to the study, farmers and agriculture extension workers in Aceh Province have a positive perception of SFT. They believe that modern technology will lower their input costs, provide better decision-making information, limit agricultural pollution, increase productivity, and increase their revenue.
However, the same study’s findings also revealed that farmers are hesitant to use SFT. This is because they are unable to use the internet, or smartphones, or follow online or computer tutorials. On the other hand, extension workers are capable of operating SFT-supporting equipment.
The study emphasized the importance of government assistance in capacitating farmers on SFT use. They also suggested that the government may also help farmers by supplying drones or self-driving machines to extension centers for joint use. The presence of this equipment is also expected to help with farming activities. For farmers to benefit from SFT, the government, campuses, NGOs, the private sector, and extension workers must provide support in the form of programs, demonstrations, tools, and initiatives.
You may access the full study here.
Article contributed by Selena Patricia Campañer, ComDev Asia Intern
Sources:
Agussabti, A., Rahmaddiansyah, R., Hamid, A., Zakaria, Z., Munawar, A. & Abu Bakar, B. (2022). Farmers’ perspectives on the adoption of smart farming technology to support food farming in Aceh Province, Indonesia. Open Agriculture, 7(1), 857-870. https://doi.org/10.1515/opag-2022-0145
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