Encourage Gen Z to become farmers, academics: fill up a minimum of 1 hectare of land first

The aim of this program is to produce young farmers who are adaptive to various agricultural methods, such as permaculture, environmentally friendly agriculture, the use of simple and appropriate technology, to smart agriculture that utilizes internet of things technology. /i> (IoT). Moeldoko emphasized that this program must have a direct impact in increasing the number of competent and innovative young farmers.

Also read: Rice Farmers Who Remain Left Behind

Based on agricultural census data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), currently more than 70 percent of Indonesian farmers are over 43 years old, with only 2.14 percent falling into the young or Gen Z category. This situation adds urgency to promoting regeneration among young people to ensure national food security.

With the aging demographic of farmers today, there is an urgent need to encourage younger generations to become interested in the agrarian sector as a career choice.

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The lecturer of the Agricultural Economics Program at the Faculty of Agriculture, Gadjah Mada University, Gilang Wirakusuma, stated that the agricultural workforce and farmers are indeed dominated by the elderly population. This condition is a global trend when young and productive workers tend to work in non-agricultural sectors.

One of the main factors causing the younger generation to be reluctant to become farmers is access to land resources. Currently, the scale of land for the majority of farmers is less than 1 hectare, accompanied by the fact that land tenure costs continue to increase. The government's program to grow millennial farmers in the last 5 years has often stalled because novice farmers find it difficult to meet the minimum land economic scale.

The program for cultivating millennial farmers that has been implemented by the government in the last 5 years often stops because novice farmers have difficulty meeting the minimum land economic scale.

Tracing the results of agricultural researchers' studies at UGM on strategic crops, such as rice fields, the minimum required land is 1 hectare for rice fields in Java and about 2-3 hectares outside of Java. However, the profit generated from this scale only meets the standard for decent living assuming two rice plantings per year.

The current workforce is considered more realistic regarding economic choices, especially livelihoods. The agricultural sector is a sector that is considered low profit and high risk. The business climate and government policies to encourage added value in the agricultural sector often encounter a dualism between the interests of food producers and consumers.

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The phenomenon in the field also shows that many young Indonesian workers choose to work in agricultural activities abroad, such as Japan, Australia and Taiwan. ”Why would they want to? "Because the economic return is much greater than working in the agricultural sector in Indonesia," said Gilang.

Farmers expect profitable prices, while consumers want the cheapest prices possible.

In the end, young generations choose to switch their profession to the non-agricultural sector despite still having the obligation to participate in the program. Regarding the KSP's plan to implement various practical work programs for farmer regeneration, Gilang emphasizes that attracting the interest of youth is not only through incentives and introductions to cultivation aspects, but also requires policy that is truly supportive of ensuring a decent income for them.

In the framework of the agribusiness subsystem, in addition to cultivation aspects, it is mandatory for the government to maintain a conducive climate in upstream, downstream, and marketing aspects, supporting facilities, and regulations. In addition to planning the KSP agenda, supporting strategies need to be implemented. For example, from a promotional perspective, the introduction of profitable farming ventures needs to be implemented starting from school age and through a structured curriculum.

We plan to develop a collaborative platform that will bring together various programs from stakeholders for more effective synergy.

The presence of Gen Z farmers is also expected to contribute to the revitalization of Indonesia's agricultural sector. Moeldoko believes that the emergence of new companies managed by young farmers can be a catalyst for the younger generation to enter the agricultural sector. ”Making the agricultural sector an attractive profit field that has significant development potential is essential. "Especially with the application of the latest technology," said Moeldoko.

The farmer regeneration program initiated by KSP will also involve several stakeholders across ministries, institutions, Pramuka youth organizations, state-owned enterprises, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), as well as the Indonesian Farmers Unity Association (HKTI). The aim is to create an ecosystem that supports the growth of skilled and knowledgeable young farmers.

Also read: The Role of Millennial Farmers in Creating Sustainable Food

The meeting led by Moeldoko regarding farmer regeneration at the Bina Graha Building on Wednesday (8/5/2024) was also attended by the Deputy of Food in the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs and a representative from FAO, Dida Gardera. They reached a consensus on strengthening the farmer regeneration program through collaboration. This partnership will revitalize the agriculture sector by integrating modern technology.

Dida Gardera stated that the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs fully supports the farmer regeneration program initiated by KSP. "We plan to develop a collaborative platform that will unite various stakeholder programs for more effective synergy," said Dida.