ESSAY AGROCOMPLEX

Nama : Reni

NPM : 240210180025

Fakultas/Prodi : FTIP / Teknologi Pangan

Kelompok : 73

Mata Kuliah : Bahasa Inggris

 Urban Farming as a Solution for Indonesian Food Security

Along with the increasingly uncontrolled population growth in Indonesia, there are
many aspects that have been negatively affected by this. This is due to the imbalance of various
aspects related to increasing population growth. This imbalance creates various complex and
interrelated problems. One of them is related to food security. According to FAO (Food and
Agriculture Organization) food security is a situation where all households have access, both
physically and economically to obtain food for all family members and households not at risk of
experiencing a second loss of access that is. In fact, as we know, Indonesia is an agricultural
country that has abundant natural resource potential and is of course very dependent on the
agricultural sector to improve the welfare of its diverse and dispersed people. In the mid-1960s,
Indonesia was the world's largest importer of rice (Fuglie and Piggott, 2006). Of course this is
like beyond reason, Indonesia is rich in natural resources and agriculture but still has to import
rice, even becoming the largest rice importing country in the world. Until finally from the 1970s
to the mid-1980s, Indonesia focused its efforts on reducing its dependence on food imports and
directing investments to increase food crop production (especially rice). Growth in the
agricultural sector coincided with the "Green Revolution" as a technology for fertilizer and
Government subsidies that substantially enabled increased production through intensification of
crops. Supported by the abundant food sector in the 1980s, Government sentiment began to shift
towards the first new industrial policy (Nicholas Rada and Anita Regmi, 2010). Total
agricultural output in Indonesia grows through land expansion, increased labor and capital
investment, and intensive use of intermediate inputs, such as fertilizer. The average annual
agricultural yield growth in Indonesia increased 3.6 percent between 1961 and 2006, with
roughly half taken into account by farms increasing use of inputs (Fuglie, 2009). But until now
the problem of food security has not yet ended. This condition is exacerbated by the decreasing
amount of land for agriculture, this is due to the large amount of agricultural land that has been
converted into housing and industrial centers. So that agricultural land decreases over time. Of
course the decreasing amount of agricultural land, then the production of food products produced
also decreased.
The facts show that Indonesia is the country with the largest population in Southeast
Asia and the fourth largest country in the world. The total population is estimated at 261.99
million (The Statistika Portal, 2018). With this population, Indonesia certainly carries
considerable responsibility because it must fulfill the food needs of its people. With this
population, the challenge faced by Indonesia is on how food meets the needs of its population,
which until now Indonesia has not been able to guarantee the fulfillment of food supplies for its
population (Arif Wahyu Widada, 2017). Moreover, fulfilling food needs is one of the basic rights
possessed by every human being and is quite crucial so that it must be fulfilled. So it is not
surprising that food is not just an economic commodity but also a political commodity that has a
broad social dimension. As we know, the aspect of fulfilling food needs is in the spotlight and
attention of the Indonesian government because it is very sensitive in the dynamics of socio-
political life. Moreover, currently food security is a concern that has developed throughout the
world for a decade. More than 1 billion people are estimated to lack sufficient food energy, and
at least twice that number suffer from micronutrient deficiencies. In fact, according to the FAO
(Food and Agriculture Organization) Indonesia is on a serious level in the global hunger index.
This is predicted to continue to deteriorate with the continued increase in the population in
Indonesia which is not accompanied by an increase in the fulfillment of food needs. In the future,
food scarcity is predicted to be caused by several things such as environmental damage, land
conversion, high prices of fossil fuels, climate warming, and so on. Even though Indonesia is an
agricultural country, it cannot guarantee domestic food security.
There are several things that have caused Indonesia's food security to deteriorate. One
of the things that most plays a role in decreasing the quality of food security is the diminishing
agricultural land in Indonesia. The reduced area of agricultural land is caused by the shifting of
the function of the land to off-farm activities. Managing food security and its sustainable
development is one of the biggest challenges in Indonesia (M Ansar and Fathrurahman, 2018).
This phenomenon of industrial sector expansion will drive the process of economic
transformation from the agricultural sector to the industrial sector. From this industrial sector, the
community, especially farmers, can increase the income and welfare of their families. This
process will always occur until the level of wages or salaries of the agricultural sector is almost
the same as the industrial sector. But what happened to the country of Indonesia was the
increasing number of government policies that put more emphasis on the protection of the
industrial sector. These developments forced the function of agricultural land to change function,
especially agricultural land near urban areas. According to data quoted from BPS (Central
Bureau of Statistics) in the period of 19 years (1993-2012) the reduction in agricultural land area
nationally is around 20,000 ha per year or 0.24% per year. The rate of depreciation of
agricultural land has reached 1,935 million ha for 15 years or 129,000 per year. Every day more
than 353 ha of agricultural land is turned into non-agricultural land (14.7 ha per hour, 0.25 ha per
minute). Agricultural land is getting narrower, but on the other hand the need for agricultural
products is increasing. Food availability is an important prerequisite for sustainable
consumption, but is considered necessary but not sufficient in the context of food security,
because there are still many variables that influence to achieve food security at the regional and
household level. Therefore, food security is important to be realized in ensuring the fulfillment of
food needs for the sustainability of a country's population. Food security is a pillar for the
development of other sectors. By these matters, food independence is a real requirement to
realize food security. Conceptually independence is a condition where there is no condition and
is not dictated by differences. Food independence can be interpreted as the ability of countries
and nations in diverse food production from within the country, especially from local wisdom. In
addition, the World Food Summit states that food security occurs when everyone continuously,
physically, socially and economically has access to food that is sufficient or sufficient, nutritious
and safe, that meets their food needs and food choices for active living and health (RI Food
Safety Council, 2009) Of course efforts to build food independence are very necessary, covering
many parties not only limited to politics or awareness, maintaining a green environment, but
more in meeting food needs in a more difficult economic center.
In addressing the issue of food security, the steps that can be applied by the city is to
apply Food Oriented Development (FOD). Food Oriented Development is a concept that tries to
consider aspects of food security in urban development. This consideration of food security is
expected to support urban sector development which results in sustainable development
outcomes. Urbanization threatens environmental stability. IDRC explains that a city is 'nutrient
sink' (Mougeot, 2006), meaning consuming lots of resources - such as land, food and energy,
but, cities do not return sources - unlike natural environments that produce oxygen, rain,
fertilizer and others. This means that cities take more than give. However, there is a high
probability that the city cities around the world can become more stable if the urban environment
carries out urban agricultural activities. Therefore, by utilizing the available potential resources,
the concept of agriculture has been developed known as "urban farming". According to Council
for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST), what is meant by urban agriculture is a
complex system that encompasses a spectrum of interests, from the traditional core of activities
related to production, processing, marketing, distribution, and consumption, for other benefits
and services less widely recognized and documented. In fact, the Ministry of Agriculture is
currently promoting urban agriculture or limited land use by optimizing the land area. In addition
we can optimize the use of the yard as a source of food and family nutrition by cultivating
various types of plants according to family food needs such as various tubers, vegetables, fruits,
and livestock and fish cultivation as an addition to the availability of carbohydrates, vitamins,
minerals and protein sources for families at a location of residential areas / residents that are
close together. Thus, an area that is rich in food resources can be formed by itself in the area
from optimizing the yard, with periodic food independence being formed. urban agricultural
activities in general have a very important role because they are needed in supporting food
security with adequate food availability, the ability to access (including buying) food, and not
dependence on any party, so the position of farmers in urban agriculture has a strategic position
to support food security. This is because farmers are food producers and also the largest
consumer group. Although the actions taken are fairly simple, the movement of urban farming if
it continues to be promoted can support independence and food security. In urban agriculture,
often used for media is used land or residual land such as the roof of a building. In addition,
urban agriculture processes usually use organic farming systems and agricultural waste to be
processed with the 3R concept (reuse, reduce, and recycle). Urban agriculture activities that refer
to the sustainability of urban agriculture and the quality of agricultural products.

Urban farming consists of several types that are commonly applied to limited land,
namely:
1. Vertical farming is a new type of urban farming technology.Traditional farming methods
use large plots of flat land.Vertical farming uses small areas of flat land inside tall
buildings (Carol Hand, 2016) . We can use shelves that are level, hang, or arranged with
several types of planting containers. In general, verticulture can be realized on narrow
land. Actually, this technique is the same as conventional planting in general, which uses
soil as the planting medium. Vertical laying that distinguishes verticultural techniques
from other conventional farming techniques.
2. Hydroponics is a subset of hydroculture, which is a method of growing plants without
soil by using mineral nutrient solutions in a water solvent. Terrestrial plants may be
grown with only their roots exposed to the mineral solution, or the roots may be
supported by an inert medium, such as perlite or gravel. The nutrients used in hydroponic
systems can come from an array of different sources; these can include, but are not
limited to, byproduct from fish waste, duck manure, or purchased chemical fertilisers.
There are two main variations for each medium, sub-irrigation and top irrigation. For all
techniques, most hydroponic reservoirs are now built of plastic, but other materials have
been used, including concrete, glass, metal, vegetable solids, and wood. The containers
should exclude light to prevent algae and fungal growth in the nutrient solution.
3. Aeroponics is the process of growing plants in an air or mist environment without the use
of soil or an aggregate medium (known as geoponics). Aquaponics can he used to raise
fish and fresh produce at any scale, from very large commercial systems to very small
personal setups and everything in between (Sylvia Bernstein,2011). An aquaponic garden
 allows a gardener to avoid chemical fertilizers by using fish to provide nutrients for the
plants. The plants grow in a soil-free environment, and the roots clean the water for the
fish. Together, the fish and plants work together so the water can be recycled indefinitely.
Aquaponic gardens produce food naturally with much less water than a conventional
garden. Aquaponics is becoming popular among people concerned about nutrition,
avoiding artificial additives, and protecting the environment (Meg Stout, 2013).

Based on some of the explanations above,urban agriculture contributes to in no small

measure, to the food security of many major cities, both as an important component of
the urban food system and as a means for vulnerable groups to minimise their food insecurity
problems.Studies that have undertaken actual measurements of the impact of urban agriculture
on food security generally support the hypothesis that urban agriculture does improve the food
security of vulnerable households. Agri-food system provides a relatively secure and more
locally controlled source of food. Urban agriculture benefits both individuals and neighborhoods,
and thus contributes to overall community health (Margaret Armar, 2000). The benefits of food
production transcend the physical, mental and emotional health of the individual to leave lasting
change on others and on the physical and social space of the community. For this reason, all
components of the nation, both the government and the community, must jointly develop
national food security. One of the most possible ways to do this is urban farming. It cannot be
denied that urban farming has indeed emerged as a solution amidst the shrinking of agricultural
land due to the expansion of urban areas. However, it must be acknowledged that Indonesia still
has to prepare itself to be able to develop urban farming seriously. This is very necessary if
Indonesia really wants urban farming as a solution to the problem of fulfilling food needs. The
government of course must take part in starting urban farming so that the steps taken are more
structured and effective. The government can play a role in making policies and work programs
regarding the implementation of urban farming, so that the implementation remains under
government supervision and the results obtained are maximized because the government can
establish cooperation with various parties that make the implementation of urban farming easier.
In addition, the government can also socialize and continue to provide direction on the
importance of implementing urban farming. The community must be swift in responding to
various problems in fulfilling food needs and ready to contribute to the success of government
programs to realize food security. This is intended so that the results obtained through urban
farming are maximized and of course can realize food security for Indonesia because urban
farming has not been so developed in Indonesia. Indonesia needs to immediately apply urban
farming seriously and efficiently as a real step in reforesting the city and overcoming the
problems of food security in Indonesia.
 References

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