Alumni of the South Kalimantan Student Association at Bogor (PMKS) held a discussion on Food Security and Nutrition in South Kalimantan as a support for the national capital at the Artificial Insemination Center in Banjarbaru on Sunday, May 13th. The discussion had speakers including Dr Muhrizal, Prof Dr Ir Masganti, Dr Wahyu Darsono, Dr Ika Sumantri, and Hilmi Arifin.
The Chairman of the Committee, Totok Dewanto, said that PMKS alumni from South Kalimantan numbered in the thousands, scattered across Java island. According to Dewanto, the alumni feel called to contribute to the food security of South Kalimantan. “Several recommendations are needed for South Kalimantan, including the need to improve agricultural infrastructure to prevent floods and droughts. Furthermore, preventing land use changes by setting up Regional Spatial Planning (RTRW) in every district and city,” he explained.
The committee also provided recommendations for increasing planting indexes, modernizing agricultural equipment for efficiency and economic purposes, as well as increasing planting areas. “As for animal husbandry, the recommendation is to encourage the application of partnership-based oil palm cattle integration systems in all palm oil companies through the Livestock Core Plasma (Siska Ku Intip) system and encourage the upgrade of superior cattle studs and the downstreaming industry of slaughter cattle,” he added.
Dewanto also recommended that the community carry out biofloc-based aquaculture in the fisheries sector. “In addition to providing valuable thoughts, we are also asking for support to revitalize the student archives on Bogor Baru street,” he said.
The Governor of South Kalimantan, H Sahbirin Noor or Paman Birin, expressed his gratitude for all the thoughts that were conveyed to the Provincial Government of South Kalimantan. He appreciated the contribution of the alumni, with various competencies, scientific backgrounds, and resources, in active roles in agricultural development in South Kalimantan.
“However, the baton of development is not only moved by the government but also by components of society with their respective expertise in each field,” he said.
Sahbirin Noor revealed that these thoughts would be integrated into the development planning of South Kalimantan. The South Kalimantan Provincial Government has prepared various strategies to help improve agricultural productivity, including building agricultural infrastructure, utilizing appropriate technology, and developing potential new lands.
“In addition to rice, South Kalimantan also continues to increase the target production of other food items from year to year, such as corn, peanuts, chili peppers, and shallots. The production of these food commodities is expected to not only meet the needs of South Kalimantan but also supply food for the national capital in East Kalimantan,” he concluded.
