Eradicating Hunger by attracting Millennials to work in the Village
Sleman,
The Road to Zero Hunger Campaign Team FAO Indonesia (30/8) stepped on Yogyakarta as the second city in the 2018 World Food Day campaign series under the global theme "Our Actions are Our Future, Zero Hunger 2030 is possible".
This campaign is part of the awareness-raising programme for Indonesians, especially for youth and millennials, about food and nutrition issues challenges in reaching “Zero Hunger” by 2030 as mandated under the Sustainable Development Goals.
According to the United Nations, more than 815 million people still suffer from chronic malnutrition, and the number increased by 38 million from 2015. In Indonesia, 20 million people are still experiencing food insecurity and one among three children in Indonesia, experience chronic malnutrition or stunting. Food insecurity and stunting in Indonesia mostly take place in rural areas, as part of eighty percent of the world extreme poor that live in rural areas. Most of them depend on agriculture.
In Indonesia, 45 percent of the population live in rural areas, and while 1/3 of the formal labor force country-wide is still in agriculture. With constant rural-urban migration, and in spite of population growth overall, Indonesia has fewer people living in rural areas every year. Over the past 15 years, urban areas in Indonesia have grown by 50 million people, while the total rural population has shrunk by 5 million people.
"The Zero Hunger movement in Indonesia must focus on the village, which is where our food producers, farmers, fishermen, and breeders live. The role of millennials living in rural areas has become more important because they are the future of our food and agriculture, "said Stephen Rudgard FAO Representative in Indonesia and Timor Leste.
Millennials that work with farmers in rural areas
In the “Zero Hunger campaign” at Yogyakarta, FAO Indonesia collaborated the campaign with Agrayadaya, a social enterprise that work with small holder farmers to develop village resources through food and agriculture.
The social agribusiness startup aims to build agricultural resources in the Menoreh Hills, Sleman, Yogyakarta to produce spices grown in forest and home-yard areas (ginger, turmeric, temulawak) with a more market-oriented products.
The founder of Agradaya, Andhika Mahardika (30) explained that the start-up had been built for four years and worked with 157 spice farmers in two villages in the Menoreh Hills facilitating the development of sustainable farming system.
"We have worked together with the farmer to raise the standard of their product. The farming system ensures farmers are not using chemicals to cultivate the land that will damage the environment. Our works somehow has impact on the farmers’ welfare and also preserve the environment. We see that now the farmer’s income have increased around 50%,” he said.
Together with Agradaya, FAO Indonesia discussed Zero Hunger with the youth in the village, conducted community drawings with the children and held workshops to the university students who visit Agradaya to make turmeric latte using turmeric powder that were produced from the Menoreh Hills.
Cooking Together in the Ricefish sites
In Yogyakarta FAO Indonesia also collaborated with a community activator “Cooking in the Weekend” (MAP), which aims to increase young people’s awareness to improve their understanding of food and agriculture, while also celebrating the richness of Indonesian traditional cuisine.
FAO Indonesia together with the media, government officials, Yogyakarta’s millennials and ricefish farmers were cooking Yogyakarta traditional food at the ricefish sites which once were developed by government and the farmers with FAO support.
Sigit and his farmer group Murakabi, have succeeded in developing the 4.5 hectare ricefish sites into a profitable business. In his village, Sigit has initiated a junior farmer group which invited participation of the youngsters to be involved in maintaining the ricefish sites
" The "Cooking on the Weekend” movement (MAP) invites the young generation to be aware of the richness of Indonesia’s food diversity. We believe a casual style of cooking together is a powerful medium to start the discussion about food, agriculture and all the related issues”, said Farah Mauludynna, one of the initiators of the MAP movement.
In the capital of Yogyakarta FAO Indonesia campaign team also met with Gadjah Mada University (UGM), Senior High Schools and elementary schools students near the Minapadi Sites to discuss Zero Hunger and other related activities.
FAO will continue the campaign in two cities in Indonesia, including Kendari, the capital of south-east Sulawesi, where FAO supports Sago farmers to improve their farm and livelihood, and also Jakarta, where FAO involves to support Jakarta government to improve biosecurity in the markets and slaughter houses for animal and poultry.