How do we simultaneously develop rural areas and maintain traditional agricultural techniques?
Our Impact Maker this week can help you answer this question. Coming from Indonesia, Mohammad Ghofur saw the need for the local food production and security system to improve.
He also noticed that food production varies between different regions in the country. As a large and stretched island country with a length of more than 5100 kilometers, local issues have huge impact on food production. The vast amount of local differences often lead to the optimum level of food production not being reached. One must realise: Indonesia is so big, that in comparison to the US it would stretch even further than the length from the east coast to the west coast. However, as much as big differences are to be expected in such a big country, knowledge on dealing with differences in the matter of food production techniques was not widely shared yet. This is where Ghofur wanted to step in!
After completing his Master’s programme at Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences, Ghofur returned to Indonesia to apply his expertise and help develop the local agriculture. To improve Indonesia’s food security, Ghofur focuses on identifying problems with food production in the traditional farming methods in some rural areas. He then implements the knowledge he obtained in the Netherlands by utilising modern farming techniques alongside traditional methods. Ghofur collaborates with local farmers to analyse their farming methods and proposes modernised techniques to them. The result: more farmers are strengthened with knowledge and more food is being secured for future nourishment!
By focusing on food security and rural development, Ghofur aspires to raise awareness on the importance of purchasing locally produced food products. To him, Indonesia is a nation with a rich agriculture history and skilled local farmers. He is optimistic that in the future, the nation will have balanced food security and improved farming techniques.
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Re-Post from: Nuffic Global Development's Post