The Faculty of Agricultural Technology at Universitas Gadjah Mada (FTP UGM) has been tasked with supporting national programs like stunting reduction and assisting the government’s new nutritious lunch initiative.
UGM Rector Professor Ova Emilia conveyed this message during the peak celebration of FTP UGM’s 61st Anniversary and the Open Senate Meeting on Thursday (Sep. 19) at the Kamarijani Soenjoto Auditorium.
The rector emphasized the need for adaptive measures in agricultural technology to improve sustainable and equitable food access.
“The innovations born from FTP UGM will later be used to mitigate food security risks in this nation,” she stated.
The rector further expressed her hope that these innovations would continue to advance and spread widely through cross-sector cooperation and collaboration.
She believes that new food-related policies will emerge through collaboration, which can be implemented and impact society nationally.
Historically, the establishment of FTP UGM was initiated by an instruction from the Minister of Higher Education and Science (PTIP) in the early 1960s, which called for the division of the UGM Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry into three faculties to increase the ratio of exact sciences faculties compared to social humanities faculties.
At that time, the units within the UGM Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry that became part of FTP UGM were the Department of Agricultural Technology and the Department of Technical Culture. FTP UGM was officially established on Sep. 19, 1963, and its first batch of students graduated in 1966.
During the peak anniversary celebration, FTP UGM Dean Professor Eni Harmayani presented the annual report, which covers three main areas: academics, student affairs, and quality assurance; finance, assets, human resources, and information systems; and education, research, community service, and cooperation.
She mentioned that, at 61 years old, FTP UGM has made significant achievements, particularly in innovation, education, competition, and collaboration both nationally and internationally.
“The achievements of students at both national and international levels are quite remarkable and reflect the faculty’s progress in developing upstream-to-downstream technology-based agricultural solutions,” she said.
Professor Harmayani also mentioned that FTP UGM is actively contributing to the development of sustainable agro-industry by organizing national and international seminars, the downstream of research, and community service in collaboration with local governments, ministries, industry partners, alumni, and universities at home and abroad.
“Of course, there are still many areas that need continuous improvement. Every achievement we reach results from extraordinary collaboration and commitment from all parties. May our work and service benefit others and bring progress to the faculty, society, the nation, and the country,” Professor Harmayani concluded.
The peak anniversary event also featured a scientific oration by Professor Endang Sutriswati Rahayu, a former Head of the UGM Center for Food and Nutrition Studies.
She delivered an oration on the potential of local probiotics to support gut microbiota and overall health. She also explained that FTP UGM initiated the formation of the Probiotics Consortium.
This consortium represents a strategic step in sharing knowledge and probiotic production technology, exploring the potential of other indigenous probiotic strains possessed by Indonesian researchers, and pursuing commercialization and possibly entering the export market.
Author: Triya Andriyani
Post-editor: Afif