Graduate students from the 2023 Master of Agricultural Economics program conducted a field study (Widyakarya) in Malaysia from 11-15 August 2024. The activity, which involved 19 students, aimed to fulfill a core course requirement and study various agricultural institutions in Malaysia. The field study was supervised by Prof. Dr. Ir. Irham, M.Sc., and Dr. Hani Perwitasari, S.P., M.Sc., as academic mentors

Key destinations of the Widyakarya included the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), Beryl’s Chocolate Industry, and the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI). Malaysia was chosen as the destination because it is considered Indonesia’s main competitor in the palm oil sector and is renowned for its chocolate industry. The study aimed to enhance students’ international insights and explore Malaysia’s agricultural landscape, particularly regarding palm oil and chocolate.
Dr. Hani Perwitasari shared her aspirations for the program. “I hope they gain new insights, particularly on the development mechanisms for palm oil, the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and the downstreaming of agricultural products. These aspects can extend the economic lifecycle of agricultural products,” Hani explained.
The Widyakarya program by the Department of Agricultural Socioeconomics at UGM’s Faculty of Agriculture underscores the institution’s commitment to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 4: Quality Education, SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, and SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals. read more

On Friday, 13 September 2024, the Department of Agricultural Microbiology at Gadjah Mada University (Faperta UGM) held a guest lecture titled “Microbial and Protein Engineering in Various Industrial Applications.” The event, conducted virtually via Zoom, featured Dr. Yosephine Gumulya from the School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability, The University of Queensland, Australia, as the speaker.

The event opened with a speech from Prof. Ir. Irfan Dwidya Prijambada, M.Eng., Ph.D., who highlighted the importance of the topic in the industrial world. read more

On Wednesday, 4 September 2024, the Department of Soil at the Faculty of Agriculture Universitas Gadjah Mada (Faperta UGM), organized a guest lecture themed “Micrometeorology Technology for Precision Agriculture and Carbon Farming.” The lecture was delivered by Prof. Cheng-I Hsieh from the Department of Bioenvironmental Systems Engineering at National Taiwan University, held at the Prof. Harjono Danoesastro Auditorium.

During the session, Prof. Cheng-I Hsieh covered three key topics that are currently of significant interest among researchers: precision agriculture for farm management, indoor vertical farming, and carbon farming. He also highlighted the connection between smart agriculture, micrometeorology, and machine learning, which closely relates to artificial intelligence. In his presentation, he shared several case studies from Taiwan and discussed the results of his collaborative research on micrometeorology. read more