Tim Program Kreativitas Mahasiswa Penerapan IPTEK (PKM-PI) yang diketuai oleh Fransisco Yamonaha Harefa (Ilmu Tanah 2022) menginisiasi sebuah inovasi teknologi untuk meningkatkan produktivitas pertanian di Kelompok Wanita Tani (KWI) Sumber Rejeki, Kabupaten Kulon Progo. Fransisco bersama rekan timnya mengembangkan produk pupuk bernama EcoBlend yang diaplikasikan melalui sistem irigasi otomatis bertenaga surya.

Fransisco menjelaskan, inisiasi inovasi EcoBlend muncul dari keprihatinan terhadap berbagai masalah pertanian yang semakin kompleks. Oleh karena itu, ia bersama Lulu Nazhifa (Ilmu Tanah 2022), Meila Dwi Nurini (Statistika 2022), Nazzwa Aliefa Herdianti (Manajemen Sumberdaya Akuatik 2022), dan Imam Novariansyah Aziz (Ilmu Tanah 2023), serta Angga Prasetya, S.P., M.Sc., selaku dosen pembimbing dari Departemen Tanah Fakultas Pertanian UGM, menciptakan EcoBlend yang dapat mengintegrasikan pemupukan dan penggunaan Photosynthetic Bacteria (PSB) dalam satu sistem fertigasi sprinkler.

“Potensi pertanian di Kabupaten Kulon Progo ini sangat besar, tetapi perlu didukung oleh teknologi yang tepat agar bisa mengoptimalkan segala potensi tersebut. Salah satunya adalah pengembangan EcoBlend melalui metode fertigasi otomatis,” jelas Fransisco.

Sistem fertigasi otomatis yang memanfaatkan panel surya dinilai sangat membantu anggota KWT Sumber Rejeki. Hal tersebut disampaikan oleh Siti Aminah, Ketua KWT Sumber Rejeki, yang merasakan bahwa sistem yang menyiram lahan secara otomatis menjadi solusi untuk mengurangi beban kerja anggota KWT dan menjaga kualitas hasil tanaman hortikultura.

Kesepakatan kemitraan antara Tim PKM-PI Fakultas Pertanian UGM bersama KWT Sumber Rejeki telah berlangsung sejak Januari lalu saat penyusunan proposal program dan akan terus terjalin sampai Agustus 2024 mendatang. Dalam kurun waktu tersebut, Fransisco dan tim telah melaksanakan sosialisasi pada 1 Mei 2024 di Gedung PAUD Dwi Asih dalam rangka memberikan penjelasan lebih detail mengenai inovasi EcoBlend dan sistem fertigasi otomatis. Selain itu, pada bulan Juli hingga Agustus, mereka akan membagikan buku pedoman kepada anggota KWT Sumber Rejeki, serta diikuti dengan kegiatan monitoring dan evaluasi.

Inovasi produk EcoBlend yang disertai teknologi sistem fertigasi otomatis menjadi bukti kesadaran mahasiswa Fakultas Pertanian UGM terhadap komitmen mencapai tujuan SDG 1: Tanpa Kemiskinan, SDG 2: Tanpa Kelaparan, SDG 7: Energi Bersih dan Terjangkau, SDG 12: Konsumsi dan Produksi yang Bertanggung Jawab, dan SDG 13: Penanganan Perubahan Iklim.

Penulis: Lulu Nazhifa

Editor: Hanita Athasari Zain

Foto: Dokumentasi tim PKM

Micro-credentials (MC) are gaining popularity and competing more with traditional higher education programs, following swift changes in the global job market. To ensure the quality micro-credentials, Institutions should strive to grow and develop their programs to provide more online learning access for the wider community. To achieve this aim, Dr. Dyah Weny Respatie, S.P., M.Si., Vice Dean for Academic and Student Affairs, Faculty of Agriculture UGM along with UGM Vice Rector for Education and Learning UGM, Dean of Faculty of Animal Sciences, Head of Sub-Directorate Academic Studies, and Manager of UGM online attended a Workshop on Building a Common Understanding and Set of Policies for Micro-credentials in Los Banos, Philippine. The workshop was hosted by The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) on 6-7 May 2024. 

UGM as a core member of SEARCA and University Consortium (UC) took a part as the leader in the Postgraduate Micro-credentials in Food Security and Climate Change (PMC FSCC) together with Kasetsart University, Thailand. The workshop was attended by the delegations from UGM, Institut Pertanian Bogor and Universitas Brawijaya (Indonesia), University of the Philippines Los Banos, Central Luzon State University, and Visayas State University (Philippine), Universiti Malaysia Sabah (Malaysia), Maejo University and Kasetsart University (Thailand). This project aimed to discuss and reach an agreement on how to harmonize the existing university policies in the development and delivery of micro-credentials and was funded by the European Commission ERASMUS+ Capacity Building in Higher Education (CBHE) program. 

Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio, SEARCA Center Director and Head of the UC Secretariat, welcomed all the participations and highlighted the important role of policies to guarantee quality higher education. 

Faculty of Agriculture UGM was actively participating in the workshop as our programs is closely related to the field of Food Security and Climate Change (FSCC), in addition, we are also the members of UC. Dr. Dyah Weny Respatie, S.P., M.Si, Vice Dean for Academic and Student Affairs of Faculty of Agriculture highlighted that the policies in MC among the UC members is linked to our policies including its implementation in our graduate programs. Dyah added that preparation of Micro-credentials for postgraduates will open up the opportunities for our postgraduate students to take international courses and competencies. “The offered module is compatible with our master’s Study Program which can be implemented in the master’s Program curriculum” said Dyah. 

In addition, Prof. Dr. Wening Udasmoro, SS, M.Hum., DEA, UGM Vice Rector for Education and Learning, stated that UGM’s involvement in the PMC FSCC module development is part of implementation of our commitment to provide opportunity for community to access the development of science and technology through learning platforms on ugmonline.id channel. 

UGM as the leader of PMC FSCC module development also delivered a presentation on the survey findings conducted among the project participants during the workshop. The purpose of the survey was to understand about the rules and regulations pertaining to MC in each university. Through this discussion session, a draft report on harmonizing university policies to develop micro-credentials was created. 

The development of the PMC FSCC module will be legitimate contributions from UGM in the implementation of sustainable development goals, especially in SDG 1: No Poverty, SDG 2: Zero Hunger, SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy, SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG 9: Industry Innovation and Infrastructure, SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, and SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals. 

Author : Desi Utami