Farmers' Success Secrets: Superior Seeds And Technology Adoption

Photo: Special

JAKARTA - The superior seeds are one of the main pillars in successful food and agricultural security. This was felt by Ahmad Lani, an onion farmer from Cirebon, West Java. Inheritating farming knowledge from his parents, the man who had aspired to study agriculture but failed due to his family's financial limitations has now succeeded in making the land he manages very productive.

For example, Lani can harvest up to 18 tons of shallots per hectare. The harvest is above the national average productivity of shallots, which ranges from 10 tons per hectare.

Not only using superior quality seeds, the adoption of technology and environmentally friendly fertilizer patterns is also the secret of Ahmad Lani's success.

In my opinion, farmers are key in superior seeds and technology. If you use superior seeds, the results will also increase significantly. It is much higher than using ordinary seeds," said Ahmad Lani, who has used the technique of planting shallots with seeds or True Shallot Seeds (TSS), quoted Monday, May 12.

In the past few years, farmers in Indonesia have indeed been introduced to the technology of planting shallots through seeds or TSS. The adoption of this technology is one of the drivers of increasing national shallot productivity. With superior seeds of shallots such as Sanren, Lokananta, and Merdeka F1, production potential can be boosted to reach 18 tons per ha.

In addition to increasing productivity, superior seeds are also very important in maintaining national food security. In the midst of the challenges of climate change and land constraints, the ability of superior seeds to deal with changing environmental conditions and pests and disease attacks is very valuable.

"Farmers must also continue to innovate. And farming is proud, because we can become a food source for many people," said Ahmad Lani.

The same thing was conveyed by Nur Azitah Azman, a chili farmer from Banyuwangi, East Java. According to Maman, as Nur Azitah Azman is usually called, farmers are very important to know and adopt the latest developments in agricultural technology.

Azman, who has been in the agricultural world since he was 19 years old, has proven that with the adoption of technology he was able to grow his business and expand the planting area which was originally only 5,000 m2 to 50,000 m2.

Furthermore, Maman stated that the key to the success of other farmers is the ability to read the market and provide guidance from the government and the private sector, especially in adopting the right technology.

"Right now, farmers have to be technology literate. I didn't immediately understand it, but over time I learned, especially when I was often guided by the team from the Red Arrow Cap. From there I found out how to grow more efficiently, the results were also getting better. Once in a while I even made a profit of up to IDR 2 billion growing chilies on 1.5 hectares of land, "he said.

The Red Arrow Cap is called a farmer for a leading vegetable seed company centered in Purwakarta, West Java, namely PT East West Seed Indonesia (EWINDO). Operating in Indonesia for 35 years, this company has produced more than 400 superior vegetable varieties ranging from spinach, kale, chilies, tomatoes, cucumber, tints, shallots, long beans, labus to watermelons and melons.

The existence of quality superior seeds that are easily accessible to farmers makes Indonesian farmers have the ability to compete with farmers in other countries. This is because the quality of these superior seeds has received certification from the International Seed Testing Association (ISTA), an independent organization that focuses on developing and implementing international standards for seed testing. ISTA was founded in 1924 and aims to ensure the quality and reliability of seeds in international trade.

If you want to be successful in farming, we have to work together. As long as I have become a farmer, government support, private institutions, and other farming communities really help me. With education and training from the government and the private sector, I understand better agricultural knowledge and is true," said Maman.