JAKARTA - Edufarmers, a non-profit organization in agriculture that aims to encourage the development of farmers and the younger generation, collaborated with Tech in Asia to organize the Agrinnovation Conference on March 15 at the Mandiri Tower, Jakarta. The agricultural technology conference (agritech) with the theme The Rise of Agritech to Enhance Food Security was also attended by the Minister of Agriculture Syahrul Yasin Limpo.
The Agrinnovation Conference is a very important meeting to connect various parties, especially in discussing opportunities, challenges, and existing resources. I will give full support to my friends. The President has also ordered to facilitate and provide space to collaborate with each other," said Agriculture Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo.
Syahrul explained, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the agricultural sector continued to contribute to the national economy. The value of agricultural exports continued to increase from IDR 451.7 trillion in 2020, to IDR 616.35 trillion in 2021, and reached IDR 658.18 trillion in 2022.
Data from the Central Statistics Agency shows that agriculture is one of Indonesia's economic sectors, with a contribution to gross domestic product of 12.4 percent throughout 2022. This sector also absorbs 38.7 million workers, around 28.6 percent of the total population of productive age in August 2022.
The Strategic Plan of the Ministry of Agriculture 2020-2024 compiled by the Ministry of Agriculture targets the number of agricultural implementations and technology to be 70 percent by 2021 and 2022, as well as 75 percent by 2023 and 2024.
The agricultural sector in Indonesia still has to face various challenges ranging from improving yield quality, supply chain problems, access to financial institutions, and growing farmers' welfare.
The purpose of holding this event is to inspire, connect and empower. Where we are trying to create space to collaborate in facing the challenges that exist in the Indonesian agricultural sector," said COO Edufarmers Amri Ilma.
"Overall, there must be challenges facing agritech startups in Indonesia, I believe there are significant opportunities for this startup to contribute to a more sustainable and efficient agricultural sector, increase food security, and create economic opportunities for farmers and other stakeholders," he continued.
In recent years, many startups have emerged to try to overcome problems in the agritech sector in Indonesia. Based on Tech in Asia data, investor interest in agritech startups has continued to increase since 2018, both in terms of the amount of funding or the value of the agreement.
The value of funding announced in the agritech sector in 2021 exceeded US$204 million (approximately IDR 3 trillion) from 15 deals, growing 3.5 times from the previous year. During January-August 2022, there have been 20 funding agreements with a funding value of US$314.8 million (approximately IDR 4.8 trillion).
Data Tech in Asia also shows that currently there are at least 52 startups in the agritech sector that have received funding from investors. Most of these vertical startups provide services that help distribute and process agricultural products. Some startups also provide educational services/training, access to financing, to IoT technology and software-as-a-service.
The Agrinnovation Conference event must be held again. We have heard from the president and minister that the agricultural issue in Indonesia is not a small problem. Even though there are many startups, we still need a lot of collaboration with various parties. One of the challenges in the agritech sector is acceptance of change. That's why we have to join hands to make people engaged in agriculture can accept better changes," said Eratani Co-founder and CEO Andrew Soeherman.
So far, there has been no event that accommodates the actors in the agritech sector to meet and discuss opportunities for collaboration. Moreover, the agritech sector has a complex problem and cannot only be resolved by one player. I hope that the Agrinnovation Conference can be a catalyst to continue to accelerate industrial growth," said Partner at Wise, Aldi Adrian Hartanto. The Agrinnovation Conference event is supported by various parties, ranging from the Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan), Google.org, Japfa, to the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin). This conference was attended by hundreds of participants consisting of startup communities, investors, to media crews.
During the conference, participants participated in a number of panel discussions filled with experts in the agritech sector. Experts from government agencies, agritech, venture capital companies, to startup players share interesting insights about technology, business potential, and challenges in the agricultural technology sector.
Agrinnovation Conference is also enlivened with exhibitions from 30 agritech startups demonstrating their respective products and services. This exhibition features the latest innovations in the agritech sector which are expected to be able to encourage collaboration between startups, as well as encourage collaboration and innovation that can increase agricultural productivity in Indonesia.
Of the 30 startups participating in the exhibition, 5 selected startups, namely Pitik, Beleaf, Jala, Pem Pem, and Magalarva, have the opportunity to appear in the Startup Highlight session. These selected startups present their respective products and services on the main stage, as well as have the opportunity to have direct discussions with experts.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
