Grow the Farmer, Feed the Planet: Meet Suwarna Jaman
As of today in run up to World Food Day on October 16, ICCO draws special attention to the smallholder farmers. Smallholder farmers are key for the food security in the world. As a kick off, we are like you to meet Suwarna Jaman from Indonesia.
Suwarna Jaman is a farmer in Indonesia. He participates in ICCO’s project SMARTseeds, a project under the Geodata for Agriculture and Water (G4AW) program of the Netherlands Space Office.
Farmers affected by climate change
Chili, tomato and cucumbers are among the main vegetable products of Indonesia and are important sources of farmer’s income. In recent years, vegetable farmers in Indonesia have been highly affected by changes in climate, weather patterns and availability of water. Additionally, many farmers lack market access and information, as well as technical support services for vegetable farmers which, in combination, have resulted in the inconsistent quality of vegetables produced.
Towards achieving food self-sufficiency
With Indonesia’s steadily growing population, the government is aiming to achieve food self-sufficiency through improved farming techniques by promoting climate-smart agriculture, efficient use of inputs and increasing the knowledge of farmers on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP).
The project SMARTseeds aims to provide a financially sustainable information service that supports 100,000 vegetable farmers increase their production, income, food security and reduce inputs of water, fertilizers and pesticides. There are 3 information services that will be provided to the farmers:
1. Crop Calendar via SMS: recommendations for vegetable farmers on what type of vegetable to plant and when to plant it, addressing issue of inconsistent use of crop plan due to climate change.
2. Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) advice via Mobile App: recommendations for site-specific practices on: site selection/management, seed selection, pest and animal control (pest/disease diagnosis and treatment)
3. Market information via SMS and Mobile App: SMARTseeds market information provides up-to-date information on buying price for vegetables and vegetables available (type, volume and quality) in each area for selling.
One of the first demo plot farmers within this project is Jaman. “The main problem I faced on my farm was on the provision of fertilizer. There was no service to support me and that’s why I agreed to be a demo plot farmer for SMARTseeds. In December 2017, I had my first harvest . Based on the fertilizer advice from SMARTseeds, I was able to spend EUR 35.00 less than I normally would on my inputs. I am satisfied and I hope that in the future, the advice will continue to show more good results.”