Starfruit (malangkota.go.id) – The Food Security and Agriculture Service (Dispangtan) of Malang City held Workshop Millennial Farmers 2023 on Tuesday (30/5/2023). This workshop was attended by 53 millennial farmers from five sub-districts in Malang City. Not only farmers who work in the fields or rice fields, but also those who work in the fields of sheep breeding, cattle fattening, fisheries, organic vegetable plantations, processing agricultural products such as herbal medicine and chips, and various other agricultural businesses.
The Mayor of Malang, Drs. H. Sutiaji, encouraged millennial farmers to be more adaptive in their agricultural efforts. This is expected to create innovations that increase agricultural yields. In addition, the Mayor also hopes that millennial farmers can optimize the existing land by carrying out various agricultural efforts, such as combining farming with fish farming, and processing agricultural products.
“Millennial farmers must be ready to face environmental changes. They should have options. For example, if colonial farmers can produce five tons of rice from one hectare of land, then millennial farmers should be able to produce more. How? Technology must be applied,” said the Mayor.
In addition, academic studies are also needed to provide input related to the optimization of agricultural technology. The government will also facilitate millennial farmers in terms of capital. Through this workshop, it is hoped that financial access will also be created for millennial farmers to develop their businesses. Included in this effort is building cooperation with the Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association (HIPMI) and Perumda Tugu Aneka Usaha to open up business opportunities in the agricultural sector.
"We will facilitate financial matters, such as providing loans through Perumda Tugu Arta. For farmers, we will ask that the interest rate is not high because this is still in the coaching stage. This business requires Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) funds. The government must be here so that growth can occur," he added.
Deputy Mayor of Malang, Ir. Sofyan Edi Jarwoko, expressed his hope that workshop This can motivate and encourage millennial farmers, especially those with a background in agricultural science, to create ideas and innovations to advance the agricultural sector.
"The current challenge is how we can optimize land and human resources in agriculture. Efforts are needed to overcome the problem of agricultural land by establishing permanent food land and regenerating farmers through the development of millennial farmers," said the Deputy Mayor.
Furthermore, the Deputy Mayor said that Malang City has a rice field area of 994 hectares, a non-rice field agricultural area of 1.747 hectares, and a non-rice field non-agricultural area of 8.265 hectares. Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) of Malang City in August 2022, there were 7.520 people aged 15 years and over working in agriculture.
This information is expected to encourage the younger generation to be interested in the agricultural sector. The City Government is trying to encourage them through vocational education and training in agriculture and fostering the spirit of young agricultural entrepreneurs through workshops and other training. Thus, it is hoped that agricultural entrepreneurs will be created who are adaptive to technological developments, new jobs, and farmer regeneration.
"With these efforts, it is hoped that a young generation will grow to become strong millennial agricultural entrepreneurs, who can support food security for the people of Malang City," concluded the Deputy Mayor.
Head of Dispangtan Malang City, Slamet Husnan, explained that in Malang City there are five working areas of the Agricultural Extension Center (BPP) spread across five sub-districts. Although the size of the agricultural area, the character of the farmers, and the distribution of the age of the farmers are different, the presence of technology is expected to improve the quality of agricultural products.
"We are trying to encourage and encourage millennials in Malang City to develop and revive the agricultural sector. Dispangtan also plans to utilize Malang City Government asset land in Tunggulwulung and Tasikmadu. The land will be used as an integrated agricultural concept involving agricultural, livestock, and fisheries businesses," said Slamet.
One of the workshop participants, Sarah Eka (27), who works in the field of processed plantation products, said that this activity provided valuable input to develop her business. "We also get solutions related to business financing. Here, I can meet successful people and farmers. Hopefully in the future our millennial businesses can be facilitated and develop," hoped Sarah, a resident of Oro-oro Dowo. (ari/yul)
