FAO is working with the Center for Agricultural Data and Information Systems (Pusdatin) of the Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan) to launch an agricultural digitization strategy in Indonesia, namely the "National E-agriculture Strategy".
Secretary General of the Ministry of Agriculture Dr. Kasdi Soebagyono said this cooperation would accelerate agricultural development. "The e-agriculture national strategy aims to provide instrument facilitation that the ministry really needs to accelerate our upstream, on-farm, and post-harvest agricultural development, so that farmers strengthen their position in the agricultural industry," he said at the launch of the National E-agriculture Strategy in Yogyakarta, Tuesday. , February 28, 2023.
Instruments needed by the ministry include data on the area of cultivated land, productivity, marketing channels, price diversification of consumption commodities, and food security. Such comprehensive data can accelerate the development of an Early Warning System (EWS) that can reduce the impact of certain disasters in a country. Accurate data is urgently needed considering that Indonesia, as the fourth most populous country in the world, is a major producer of agricultural products. Nearly 45 percent of the population lives in rural areas, and more than 90 percent of the population in these villages work in the agricultural sector as small farmers. Agricultural land accounts for 32 percent of the country's total land area, and the agricultural sector accounts for around 14 percent of national GDP.

In fact, the agricultural sector is still facing various challenges. Among other things, production costs are still high and labor-intensive applications. Small farmers have always worked hard, but have not received an equal share of the benefits of their hard work. The Roadmap for the National E-agriculture Strategy states that, among other things, Indonesia in 2027 will have an integrated database for agricultural land and farmers, as well as provide a digital early warning system. for disasters threatening agricultural production, and running systems for collection, extraction, and analysis of agricultural data.
"One of the main entry points for the transformation of the food-agriculture system in Indonesia is the digitization of agriculture. Digitization will produce reliable data and a platform for decision makers to make targeted policies. We need to collect real time data for more transparent information to make it easier for farmers to get better access to markets", said FAO Representative Rajendra Aryal in Indonesia and Timor Leste.

Digitizing Agriculture, Rajendra continued, is also a way to attract young people to get involved in the agricultural business, "Digitalization is the future, and the future is now to empower women, men and youth in agriculture."One of the core solutions digital in the “National Strategy of e Agriculture” is a reliable database for decision making. This is stated in the Data Collection Platform (DCP) system which can compile agricultural data from various sources and systems.
“Once the data is available, implementing other electronic solutions is relatively easy to follow and integrate. Implementation of e-solutions for each region will be carried out selectively based on regional needs, infrastructure availability, and local wisdom," said Rajendra.
Together with the Faculty of Agriculture, Gajah Mada University, the Ministry of Agriculture and FAO created a web-based and mobile DCP that can record data in real time. The data that has been collected and compiled by DCP in the field connects real time data with the Ministry of Agriculture's Agriculture War Room (AWR) in Jakarta.

Agricultural Extension in Margoluwih Village, Yogyakarta and coffee farmers in Pupuan Village, Bali have been part of a pilot project for DCP. The Ministry of Agriculture has expanded the pilot to Subang in West Java in January this year.
FAO together with the Research Agency and the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) are also developing a database to calculate the total area of agricultural land and ongoing yields. This collaboration then aims to integrate BRIN satellite data with field data recorded at the DCP

Source: https://nasional.tempo.co/read/1696803/indonesia-luncurkan-strategi-nasional-digitalisasi-pertanian