Central Sulawesi seeks to boost food production through transformation

Palu, C Sulawesi (ANTARA) - The Central Sulawesi government emphasizes agricultural transformation toward modern practices to boost provincial food production.

"It is time to enter the modern agriculture (era) by utilizing technology as a tool so that farmers can save their energy," Head of the Food Crops and Horticulture Office of Central Sulawesi Nelson Metubun said here on Sunday.

He explained that the government is starting the transformation by strengthening the capacity of farmers to utilize technology.

One of the efforts is building the capacity of farmers through technical training on mechanization and management of agricultural machine and tool service businesses, as an effort to empower farmers through the smart farming or integrated farming concept.

He added that the government also has a program to improve farmer independence and well-being called the Readsi program, which emphasizes innovation, networking, and cooperation between farmers and stakeholders.

"We have been carrying out farmer human resources improvement toward agricultural transformation since 2023," he said.

He underlined that before implementing modern agriculture, it is important to prepare a strong foundation for farmers and adjust the utilization of technology. The involvement of extension workers is also deemed essential in improving farmers' skills from using traditional methods to smart and modern farming, Metubun said.

"This program is initiated by the Ministry of Agriculture to accelerate the realization of rice self-sufficiency," he remarked.

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He noted that the presence of millennial farmers is expected to help improve the agriculture climate in regions as most of them have utilized digitalization in building their agriculture business networks.

"Farmers are the government's strategic partners. Therefore, regional governments must carry out interventions through assistance or the improvement of human resources so that they can develop," he said.