On October, 30th-31st 2018, Researchers of Agrotechnology Innovation Center (AIC) were sent to attend the 18th Asia Pacific Conference on Food Security (ARCoFS18) “Food Security and Survival of Mankind” held at Hotel Putrajaya, Bangi, Malaysia. The event was held in collaboration with the International Institute of Palm Management (IIPM), Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK), and Bogor Agricultural University. ARCoFS18 also invited Malaysian of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry (MOA), Department of Agriculture (DOA) and Malaysia Academy of Sciences (MAS). ARCoFS18 is an international conference that brings agricultural researchers, practitioners, and policymakers together in the Asia Pacific region. The event was not only aimed to arrange strategic policies in agriculture but also to identify megatrends that affect food security.
ARCoFS18 was officially opened by the Malaysian Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry, Mr. Salahuddin Ayub. He expressed appreciation for the opprtunity to share and to disseminate knowledge, create awareness, and generate new ideas related to food security policies in the food industry sector. Furthermore, he urged that in the food industry innovation, diversification and nutritional standards are needed to be improved to create safer food for consumers. Industry players must also be able to educate consumers about consumerism such as saving food that can certainly contribute to global waste.
Head of AIC, Dr. Ir. Taryono, M.Sc., was one of the speakers delivering Area-based Cultivar Rotation for Sustainable Rice Intensification. “Rice is an important food crop for half of the population in the world. By looking at the large contribution of irrigated rice fields to rice production, we have to maintain the productivity to produce rice sustainably,” he said. He added that the negative impact of using one variety continuously in the irrigated rice fields is the increasing resistance and resurgence of plant-disturbing organisms. For this reason, rotation of cultivars or rice varieties in one region can be used as a solution for sustainable rice intensification.
AIC presented seven posters in the ARCoFS 2018. Two posters of which were awarded a gold medal from Prof. F.X. Wagiman with the title “Functional Response of Coccinellid Predator Chilocorus melanophthalmus Against Sugarcane Scale (Aulacaspis tegalensis) and also from Ernayunita, S.P. with the title “Germplasm Conservation: Callogenesis of SP540T – Derived Pisiferas”. In addition, AIC was also given the opportunity to introduce several products of AIC, such as wedang uwuh, eucalyptus oil, basil and kenikir leaf chips, and coffee and tea.