Indonesia announces e-Agriculture National Strategy

Illustrative image (Photo: AFP)

Hanoi (VNA) – The Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture’s Data and IT Centre, in collaboration with the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), launched an agriculture digitalisation strategy called the “e-Agriculture National Strategy” on February 28.

The strategy aims to harness data and information resources in agriculture for the benefit of smallholders, according to a statement received from FAO Indonesia.

According to FAO, Indonesia is the fourth most populated country in the world and a major producer of agricultural products. With 45% of the population living in rural areas, more than 90% of people working in the agriculture sector are smallholder farmers. Agricultural farms take up 32% of the total land area of the country and farm production accounts for 14% of the national gross domestic product (GDP), the stated.

Among other things, the “e-Agriculture National Strategy” states that by 2027, Indonesia will have an integrated database on farmlands and farmers, provide digital early warning for disasters that threaten agriculture production, and run systems for agriculture data collection, extraction, and analysis.

FAO representative for Indonesia and Timor Leste Rajendra Aryal said that the food system transformation in Indonesia must start with digitising agriculture.

Digitalisation is the future, and the future is now to empower women, men, and youth in agriculture, he added./.