To implement the Taiwan-Indonesia collaborative project of Modern Agriculture Demo Farm in Karawang (MADFK), the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture has sent a team comprising 30 key farmers and officials to Taiwan for a 15-day long training.
Co-developed by the Indonesia Ministry of Agriculture, Karawang regency government, and related departments of Taiwan, MADFK is aimed at introducing Taiwan’s irrigation, agricultural technology, materials, and machinery, as well as seed knowledge and management and marketing models of farmers’ organization to Indonesia to advance the agricultural technology and development in Karawang, and further to duplicate the experience across Indonesia.
Held on Nov. 2 at the one of agricultural research institutes in Council of Agriculture (COA), the opening ceremony was attended by representatives from the Indonesian Economic and Trade Office to Taipei, the Office of Trade Negotiations of the Executive Yuan, and Taiwan’s International Cooperation and Development Fund.
The COA noted that the training courses will help key farmers and officials of the MADFK improve their knowledge of agricultural technology and business management and build a good foundation through sharing Taiwan’s agricultural information and development experience with them.
Earlier this June, Taiwan and Indonesia has signed an Action Plan for the MADFK project, which will carry out five major projects in Karawang Regency in West Java Province, including irrigation system, rice cultivation, horticultural industry, duck farming, and farmer organization.
The Taiwan-Indonesia collaborative project of MADFK is expected to assist Indonesia in upgrading its agricultural technology and increasing farmers’ income while exporting Taiwan’s quality seeds, materials, and machinery to Indonesia to create a win-win situation for both nations.
The training program has assigned experts from the COA to offer guidance and instruction of various agricultural practices. In addition, on-site visits to model communities of rural regeneration, work stations and pond facilities of irrigation association, local production-and-marketing groups for vegetables and flowers, and domestic agricultural machinery and fertilizer enterprises that intend to open branch in Indonesia have also been arranged.
During their stay in Taiwan, the COA has also arranged a trip to the 2018 Taichung World Flora Exposition to show them Taiwan’s development of agriculture, hoping that the Taiwan experience will help the MADFK develop and grow.