The Head of the SIPETA research team, Prof. Erma Suryani ST MT PhD, while explaining about SIPETA application features to relevant stakeholders in a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) in Jombang

ITS Campus News – Recognizing the importance of the agricultural sector as a support for the second largest economy in Indonesia, a research team from the Information Systems Department, Faculty of Intelligent Electrical and Informatics Technology (FTEIC) of the Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology (ITS) developed the Land Mapping Information System (SIPETA) application. Through the Forum Group Discussion (FGD), the application was introduced to the relevant stakeholders in Jombang, Saturday (15/10).

The head of the research team Prof. Erma Suryani ST MT PhD explained that her team did not work alone, but collaborated with a number of parties. Among others, with Universitas Brawijaya (UB), the Jombang District Agriculture Office, and the Association of Farmers Groups (Gapoktan) in Pojok Kulon. Erma said this collaboration was to design and create information technology innovations that could become a catalyst for the formation of the pentahelix ecosystem. “In it there are elements of academia, industry, community, government, and media,” he explained.

(from left) Jombang District Askom Supraptono, Head of the Jombang District Agriculture Office Ir Much Rony MM, and Head of Gapoktan Pojok Kulon Jombang Hudi during FGD

Furthermore, the professor of Information Systems said the selection of Jombang Regency as a partner was because Jombang Regency was a pilot project< /em> supply chain management of the agricultural industry in East Java Province. In addition, the track record between his team and these stakeholders has been established for a long time. “Hopefully,by having this way, Jombang District Agriculture Service will really support our research,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Jombang Regency Agriculture Office, Ir Much Rony MM, said that the rice yields in Jombang Regency were very abundant. However, there were cases where the area ran out of rice supplies, so they had to buy from other districts. In a sense, the harvest is not optimally distributed in Jombang Regency. So according to him, tracing the distribution of harvest results is necessary. “Obviously so that local needs are met first,” he said.

The SIPETA research team from the ITS Information Systems Department together with representatives of the Jombang Regency Agriculture Service, the Jombang Agricultural Commodity Association, and the Pojok Kulon Jombang Farmers’ Association

Responding to this, the Chairperson of the Jombang Regency Agricultural Commodity Association (Askom) Supraptono said, tracing prices of agricultural commodities needs to be done in realtime. In addition, given the increasingly uncertain climate conditions, he believes it is important to do weather predictions and map what commodities should be planted according to the current season. “The goal is to prevent overproduction, so that the harvest is wasted and farmers suffer losses,” he said.

On the other hand, the chairman of the Gapoktan Pojok Kulon Jombang Hudi is of the opinion that the farmers do not really understand how to invest. Yet according to him, this investment can be one of the driving factors for agricultural progress in Jombang Regency. He also stated the similarity of views on the opinions expressed by the previous two stakeholders.

The display of SIPETA application from the ITS research team which is expected to be a solution for sustainable agricultural development in Indonesia

Responding to the presentation of the needs of related stakeholders, Erma continued the event session by explaining what features are contained in the SIPETA application. In general, SIPETA has nine services. Namely price information services, users, cultivation, infrastructure, operations, strategy, decision support, predictions, to early warning. Participants can also access the application via the following link https://sipeta-kedaireka.com/.

The display of SIPETA application features developed by ITS Information Systems Department research team which becomes a solution for sustainable agricultural development

After making his presentation, this National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST) alumnus hopes that the application designed by his team will be truly beneficial for all parties. Especially for the Department of Agriculture, Gapoktan, Askom, Field Agricultural Extension (PPL), to farmers and other related stakeholders. (ITS PR)