Food Security Support, Collaboration with Social Forestry Office

JAKARTA - The Directorate General of Social Forestry, and the Ministry of Forestry in supporting the development of food agroforestry in Indonesia. PT Mekar Asta Nusantara (MANU) officially established a cooperation with the Yogyakarta Social Forestry Office, the signing of this Cooperation Agreement (PKS) includes the development of forest areas and capacity building of Social Forestry Groups (KPS) in the East Java region, as well as being part of the development of the MEKAR Ecosystem in supporting food security and community empowerment through the agricultural sector.

Through this cooperation, the government and the private sector together encourage the use of more productive forest areas through the agroforestry approach while opening up economic opportunities in the future. The President Director of PT Mekar Asta Nusantara, Evi Febriana Suhardi, conveyed that the sustainability of Indonesian food requires synergy and collaboration from various parties in order to create long-term impact for the community.

"Food sustainability is not only about today, but about how we build an ecosystem that is able to grow together with the community in the long term. Currently we are also developing agroforestry land as a form of utilization of forest areas through the planting of seasonal crops such as corn while still paying attention to aspects of sustainability and productivity. We hope that this step can bring about a tangible impact, ranging from strengthening community capacity to creating an ever-growing economic value," said Evi.

MANU will also support the development of food agroforestry through mentoring, capacity building for groups, and the development of commodities that have economic value for the community around the forest area. Head of the Yogyakarta Social Forestry Office, Wahyudi Ardhyanto, said that the management of Social Forestry needs to go hand in hand with efforts to maintain forest functions through the approach of agroforestry.

"Through this cooperation, we hope that the management of Social Forestry will not only provide economic benefits for the community, but also maintain and restore forest functions. The agroforestry approach through the combination of wood-wood plants and seasonal plants such as corn is an important step to keep forest areas productive and sustainable," said Wahyudi Ardhyanto.

In the future, this program is expected to be a tangible step in strengthening national food security through the optimization of productive forest areas as well as the development of agroforestry based on corn and other food commodities in Jember and other areas.