BRIEF HISTORY
Increasing of human population that projected to be 9 billion in 2050 will require the agricultural yields increase by 70 to 100%. Although all the world’s farmers could achieve the highest attainable yield the worldwide crops production would rise only by 45%. Producing more food with fewer resources sound too good to be true. However, farmers have trillions potential partner that can help to achieve the ambitious goal. Those are microbes.
From the evolution point of few, it clearly shows that microbes and plants have the long history intimate each other. It is believed that the plant’s mitochondria and chloroplasts originated from the anaerobic and photosynthetic prokaryotes, respectively. Therefore, microbes are also called by the second genome of plants. It is seemingly that without microbes plants would not be able to survive. Microbes has been known to protect plants from biotic and abiotic stresses, such as pathogen, nutrient limitations, heat, freeze, flood, drought, heavy metals, and osmotic stresses. Therefore, microbes could not be overlooked from the agricultural activities.
Because of the microbe’s important role in agricultural activities, in 1963, Faculty of Agriculture of Gadjah Mada University established the Microbiology section as a part of its educational and research policy. In order to enhance its role, the Microbiology section, in 1972, evolved into the Department of Microbiology. The existence of the Department of Microbiology in the Faculty of Agriculture was terminated, when the Indonesian government through the ministry of education and culture had changed the policy on the number and study programs in Faculty of Agriculture, in which the Faculty of Agriculture would not be allowed to establish the Department of Microbiology.
The establishment of government new policy in higher education autonomy and considering on the importance of the existence of Microbiology study program in Faculty of Agriculture, in 2003, the Agricultural Microbiology study program was reopened by the decree of Rector of Gadjah Mada University No. 21/P/SK/HKTL/2003 on date June 18 2003, and put the Microbiology study program directly coordinated under the Dean of Faculty of Agriculture. In 2009, the Department of was reestablished by the decree of Rector of Gadjah Mada University No. 294/P/SK/HT/2009 and the Departement of Agricultural Microbiology took over the Agricultural Microbiology study program as a part of its educational and research policy.
OVERVIEW
Microbiology is discipline that study the living organisms under microscopic scale (microorganism), including virus, bacteria, fungi, algae, and protozoa. Microbiology field includes the basic fields such as microbial genetics, microbial physiology, microbial taxonomy and microbial ecology and applied fields such as agricultural microbiology, medical microbiology and immunology, industrial microbiology and environmental microbiology. Agricultural microbiology studies the use of microorganisms to solve the practical problem in agriculture. Utilizing of microorganisms to increase the agricultural productivity both in quantity and quality and to reduce the possibility of production lost due to various reasons. Utilization of microorganisms in agricultural practices could be achieved through the following reasons:
- Maintenance and improvement of soil fertility through the manipulation of microbes play a role in nitrogen fixing, phosphorous, sulfur and metal availability.
- Maintenance of soil health by using suppressing microorganisms against soil borne pathogen.
- Recovery of soil health by using the microbial decomposer and/or microbial degrading of xenobiotic compounds (bioremediation).
- Accelerate the plants growth by using the plant growth promoting microorganisms.
VISION AND MISSIONS
The Department of Agricultural Microbiology has the following vision and missions:
Vision
To be excellent and innovative in the field of agricultural microbiology both locally or globally for the benefit of nation and humanity, imbued with the nation’s cultural values based on Pancasila as the state ideology.
Missions
- To carry out higher education, research, and community services in the field of agricultural microbiology, which is excellent and valuable for the nation and society.
- Establishing the strong collaboration with the educational institutions, research institutes, government, business community and society.
- Continues improvement of the study program in accordance to the science and technology advance, and management quality and transparencies.
OBJECTIVE
The Department of Agricultural Microbiology is held to carry out the higher education in the field of agricultural microbiology resulting the graduates who have excellent quality provided with ability to play a role both locally or globally competitions.
GRADUATE PROFILE
The graduates of Agricultural Microbiology have competency in microbial-based technologies that could be applied for agricultural practices. Mastering in the principles of microbial cultivation, isolation, identification, microbial preservation and microbial utilization for agricultural practices should flourish the graduates of agricultural microbiology. The graduates of agricultural microbiology could be a researcher and lecturer in the fields of microbiology, agriculture expertise, manager, and entrepreneur.
STAFF
The Department of Agricultural Microbiology supported by 11 permanent academic staffs, 10 of them already hold the PhD degree and 1 PhD candidate. Among of 10 PhD holders, 5 of them are professor.
FACILITIES
In order to promote the better educational in the undergraduate level and research, the Department of Agricultural Microbiology has developed six laboratories, which consist of four basic and two applied laboratories. The basic laboratories include Basic Microbiology Lab., Microbial Genetics Lab., Microbial Physiology Lab., Microbial Ecology Lab., while the applied laboratories include Microbiology Agro-industry Lab. and Soil and Environmental Microbiology Lab.
Department of Agricultural Microbiology Staff
- Prof. Dr. Ir. Siti Kabirun
- Prof. Dr. Ir. St. Margino
- Prof. Dr. Ir. Erni Martani
- Dr. Ir. Sri Wedhastri, M.S
- Prof. Ir. Triwibowo Yuwono, PhD
- Prof. Ir. Irfan D. Prijambada, M.Eng., PhD
- Ir. Donny Widianto, PhD
- Dr. Ir. Ngadiman, M.Si
- Ir. Jaka Widada, MP., PhD
- M. Saifur Rohman, M.Eng., PhD