Transcript Slide 1

Strengthening the Role of University
for Indonesia’s Agricultural
Development
Yusman Syaukat
Faculty of Economics and Management
Bogor Agricultural University
Bogor, Indonesia
International Seminar
FEM IPB & Indonesian Embassy at Rome
Bogor, 6 December 2011
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The Role of University
A university is an institution of higher
education and research, which grants
academic degrees in a variety of subjects.
In addition to their existing roles in
education and research, in many
countries, a university has its ”third role”,
i.e. to take on economic development
mandates
In general, the mission of many universities
is education, research and extension.
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Agricultural Universities
There are about 1,600 agricultural universities in
World Bank client countries, including both
independent agricultural universities and agricultural
or agriculture-related faculties within general
universities.
Though varying widely in size, program type, and
development level, agricultural universities are central
to sustainable agricultural knowledge and information
Agricultural Universities are part of the national
education system, and at the same time they are part
of the national research system.
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University Roles in Research Systems
1) National Research: A university might assume full
responsibility for public sector agricultural research,
establishing a national agricultural research institute (NARI)
within the university.
2) Basic Research: A university might focus on basic and
strategic research, leaving applied and adaptive research to
other institutions.
3) Regional Research: A university might conduct adaptive
and applied research to support development in a province or
agro-ecological zone, possibly specializing in research on a
commodity or agricultural problem important to the region.
4) Consultant Services: Universities provide consultant
services to support research by NARIs, non governmental
organizations (NGOs), international agencies, and commercial
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firms.
Agricultural Universities Challenges
Providing relevant training for future
agricultural scientists,
Defining institutional roles in relation to
general universities,
Establishing structures and funding
procedures for research and extension,
Drafting research agendas,
Providing adequate staff incentives,
Improving program relevance, and
Creating roles in extension.
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Role of Agricultural University
World Bank (2002) stresses the important role
universities play in creating and disseminating
knowledge, building professional capacity, and
reducing poverty.
In developing countries about half of the
agricultural scientists work in the universities
About 25 percent of the time of faculty in
universities is devoted to research, and the
remainder is shared among teaching, supervising
postgraduate students and consulting.
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Role of Agricultural University (2)
There is the need to dispel the notion of an ‘ivory
tower” and bring universities closer to the people
and the problems they face.
UNESCO (1998):
 The curricula of universities have to be sensitive to
the needs of rural people;
 Studies and research should be designed to answer
problems faced by rural people;
 Appropriate technologies must be developed, locallytested, adapted and disseminated; and
 Universities must serve as “resource centers” for
rural communities
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Role of Agricultural University (3)
An arrangement by which university students
go to the communities and carry out
development projects provide a two-way
interaction whereby:
– The communities are exposed to modern science and
technology
– The students learn about rural socio-economy and
constraints to rural development.
By so doing universities move from mere
academic training to providing holistic
development training for students who would
identify with the rural areas during their
working life.
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Innovation & Agriculture
World Bank (2007): An innovation system is “a network of
organizations, enterprises and individuals focused on
bringing new products, new processes, and new forms of
organization into social and economic use, together with the
institutions and policies that affect their performance and
use”.
In agriculture, innovation can include new knowledge or
technologies related to primary production, processing, and
commercialization – all of which can positively affect the
productivity, competitiveness, and livelihoods of farmers and
others.
Innovation can be developed for adoption or it can evolve
endogenously from the system.
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Innovation & Agricultural Growth
The knowledge economy places emphasis on management
of knowledge for creating innovations needed to improve
human livelihood.
Agricultural growth is needed to rise incomes in order to
improve the livelihoods of the rural poor.
Agricultural growth has been driven largely by agricultural
productivity growth which depends upon availability of
technologies in the value chains and how innovations in
production, processing, and marketing are organized .
The adoption of science-based technology can substantially
accelerate growth in agriculture.
This high quality scientific work requires highly trained
persons with good equipment and other resources.
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Agricultural University: R&D
Universities with their pool of highly trained human resources,
equipment and other resources are being called upon to play a
bigger role in agricultural research and technology
development and building professional capacity for managing
the food and agriculture system
Agricultural programs at universities in developing countries
need to improve in quality, and relevance, and need to get
massively scaled up to facilitate the growth opportunities in
agriculture and address the sustainability challenges around
natural resource management.
These opportunities and challenges are fascinating for today’s
university students and need to be communicated to them to
also raise the attractiveness of higher education in agriculture.
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Agricultural Focus: Poverty
Without agricultural and rural development
it will be impossible to make meaningful
progress towards the achievement of the
MDGs of halving hunger and poverty by
2015.
World hunger and poverty can only be
reduced if agricultural innovation is
intensified through the development of new
technologies and their dissemination to
farmers for adoption.
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Problems of Agriculture and
Agricultural Universities
The major constraints to agricultural development
include absence of appropriate technologies and lack
of innovations for increasing productivity and
growth.
Although there is a high demand for innovations for
agricultural development from universities,
agriculture is becoming less attractive to students
For many students, agriculture has become last
resort when they are not accepted for professional
studies like medicine, pharmacy, and engineering.
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Requirements for
Alleviating the Problems…
World hunger and poverty problems can only be
reduced if agricultural innovation is intensified
through the development of new technologies and
their dissemination to farmers for adoption.
To achieve this objective, increase investment in
agriculture by national governments and
international agencies is necessary condition:
To increase interest in agriculture -- to attract the
potential talents (students and scholars)
To increase public and private sector jobs
To increase profitability of agricultural activities
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Agricultural Research in Indonesia
Agricultural researches are conducted by many
institutions - universities, ministries and other
research institutions - with no good (lack of)
coordination
International Agencies has relatively small
contribution in agricultural research in
Indonesia
In addition to the development of new
technologies to yield new products and increase
productivity, social and economic research are
required to help the farmers in adopting those
technologies and to improve the livelihoods of
society
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Agricultural Research Coordination
International
Agencies
University
Development of
Research Agenda and
its Implementation
MOA, MOF,
MOMF
Research
Institute
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IPB’s Role in Agricultural
Development
IPB is the only Agricultural University in the
country with its various capabilities in
agricultural sector
IPB has responsibility in advancing
agricultural development:
Educating human resources and
Developing agricultural development programs to
counter the problems of the country: hunger and
poverty
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FEM-IPB Potential Contribution
FEM vision : the leader for sustainable development
The objective of sustainable development is mainly poverty
alleviation
With its diverse capability – economic development,
management, agribusiness, agricultural economics, resource
and environmental economics, and Islamic economics – FEM
could contribute to agricultural development
FEM has actively engaged in local, regional and national
economic development
Cooperation with National Government and International
Agencies could improve our community engagement and
economic development activities
FEM invites FAO, IFAD and WFP to work together to make
contribution in alleviating the problems of hunger and poverty
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Thank You
[email protected]
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