The Dean of Faculty of Agriculture, Prof. Ir. Triwibowo Yuwono, Ph.D. said that sustainable agricultural system is a hot agricultural issue. After half-century practicing conventional cultivation, the bad impacts are now felt in ecological, economic, social, cultural and public health areas. Those conditions have cast doubt on the sustainability of agricultural ecosystem to sustain human lives in the future.
His speech was a reply to the problems of sustainable agriculture in order to create food sovereignty and farmers’ welfare. That statement was delivered at the 63rd Anniversary of Faculty of Agriculture held on Monday (28/9). “The pragmatic approach to increase short term food production tends to also increase the continuous exploitation of natural resources in big scale so that it decreases the capacity of agricultural environment in supporting agricultural activities,†he said.
Therefore, if agricultural policy and practice conducted by government and farmers are still based on conventional ones, these will harm the future of farmers, agricultural environment, society, the state, the nation and the world. In his scientific speech entitled “Reorientation of Agricultural High Learning in Sustainable Agriculture Development†he said further that agricultural activities are related to many other factors that interact harmoniously. Besides physiochemical and biological factors, other related important factors are farmers as agents of production and consumers of agricultural products.
As agents of production, farmers play a central role in farming. On the other hand, consumers are now very critical in selecting agricultural products, moreover with the new awareness about food safety and environmental preservation. “Because of these, the interaction between consumers and farmers in producing agricultural products is interesting to observe. At global level, the market demand and world trade system have brought agricultural players to a difficult circle,†he continued.
Because agricultural issue is not limited only to national but also global scope, whether trade or environment, university curriculum should then be able to accommodate those issues that have emerged. Apart from the scientific speech, the Dean’s annual report was presented and awards confered to students and farmers during the anniversary.