SMAN 1 Muara Uya recently had a guest speaker in the person of Unang Setiawan, Head of the Muara Uya Agricultural Extension Agency (BPP), who came to motivate and share insights with students. Unang Setiawan encouraged the students to contribute to the development of the country by planting and helping to maintain the National Food Security. He shared his knowledge of becoming a successful millennial agri-entrepreneur and the potential opportunities that the agricultural sector provides, especially in dealing with global challenges such as climate change and food crisis, and Tabalong as a buffer zone of the country’s capital.
He also urged the students to leverage modern technology such as Internet of Things (IoT) and data-based agriculture to improve productivity and efficiency in farming. Unang Setiawan gave insights into the importance of integrated pest control in modern farming and encouraged the students to consider agriculture as a promising career. He hoped that through this motivation, the students would become self-sufficient and contribute to the development of the agricultural sector in the future.
Unang Setiawan shared inspiring stories of successful agri-entrepreneurs in Indonesia and how they transformed their lives through agriculture. He gave examples of innovative agricultural businesses such as hydroponics, fish farming, and the development of processed products from agricultural products. In addition, he gave a gift of superior corn seeds to SMAN 1 Muara Uya, which was received by the school head.
Rita Herlina, the school’s principal, explained that the purpose of inviting guest speakers was to bring curriculum syncing with the business world and industry to life. She also informed the students about the real-world of work and shared her experiences with them. According to Herlina, this activity involves sharing skills, work experience, careers, entrepreneurship, and soft skills that teachers do not cover.
The event was more of a sharing of inspiring stories from successful agri-entrepreneurs in Indonesia and innovative agricultural businesses such as hydroponics, fish farming, and processed products from agricultural products. The event ended with a message from Unang Setiawan to the students to strive, have an unbreakable spirit, learn and keep learning, and turn today’s challenges into future strengths.
