The Innovation of Indonesian Master and Doctoral Candidates in the Field of Agriculture and Ecology
Washington, DC (06/14/2022) — Bincang Karya (Bianka), a serial webinar held by the Indonesian Embassy in Washington, DC through the Office of the Educational and Cultural Attaché (Atdikbud) in collaboration with the Indonesia Endowment Funds for Education (LPDP) and the Council of Rectors of the Indonesia State Universities (MRPTNI), discussed the latest research in the fields of agriculture and ecology.
The Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the United States, Rosan Roeslani at the event attended by a number of parties said, “During the pandemic, the agricultural sector has become a sector that consistently contributes to Indonesia’s economic growth where the plantation sub-sector is the main support according to the Statistics Indonesia.”
“We also need the role of ecologists to help create a balanced ecosystem and a healthy environment so that the preservation of nature can be well maintained,” concluded Ambassador Rosan.
- Agust Hartanto, the Director of Finance of LPDP, said, “We must continue to improve the quality of human resources in agriculture and make this sector more attractive and profitable. Our agricultural sector must be more modern and attract the interest of the younger generation as a promising job,” said Agust.
Agust also said that there were many ways to improve the quality of Indonesian agriculture and LPDP took part by continuing to provide educational and research scholarships to the younger generation, including in the fields of agriculture and ecology.
The Educational and Cultural Attaché of the Indonesian Embassy in Washington DC, Popy Rufaidah, explained that the purpose of this activity was to increase the preference for studying in the United States and to open a way of communication to collaborate with partner universities who were present that night.
“I hope this forum can be useful for students, researchers, lecturers, and Indonesian professionals in the fields of Agriculture and Ecology to open up opportunities for collaboration with universities in the United States,” said Atdikbud Popy.
- Habib Widyawan, Ph.D candidate in Plant Breeding, Genomics, and Genetics from the University of Georgia shared his research on the use of genomic technology for the development of disease-resistant soybean cultivars. “The purpose of developing this disease-resistant cultivar is to maintain crop yields so that they can still be economically profitable even though pests and diseases attack them,” said Habib.
Meanwhile, Hendri Yuda Winanto, a candidate for a Master in Soil Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, presented his research which focuses on monitoring and modeling carbon dioxide emissions from various land uses in mitigating and adapting to climate change. Hendri said, “We are developing a low-cost and low-power sensor with a production cost of <$500 per unit, which is why our sensor is very applicable and reliable to be applied in Indonesia.”
While the Ph.D. candidate in the field of Wildlife Ecology, University of Maine, Agus Sudibyo Jati explained his research on the deer pigs or Babirusa, an endemic animal to the Togean Islands, Central Sulawesi. “Through this research, I will develop a monitoring protocol for this species that can be used as a guide for managers (i.e., the Togean Islands National Park) to monitor the population of Togean Babirusa,” explained Agus.
The activity, which was led by Reiny Antonetha Tumbol, Head of the International Office of Sam Ratulangi University, was also attended by Ron Walcott, Dean of Graduate School, University of Georgia, Alfred E. Hartemink, Chair of The Department of Soil Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Scott G. Delcourt, Associate Vice President for Graduate Studies and Senior Associate Dean, University of Maine. They explained information related to the programs the institutions offer and various sources of funding that students can get, various experimental stations in agriculture and forest as well as the various fields of research conducted by their faculty members.
The recording of the live broadcast of the 38th of Bincang Karya (BIANKA) webinar in the field of Agriculture and Ecology can be accessed on the official Atdikbud USA Facebook page with the link https://bit.ly/fb-watch-bianka38.