IRRl engages with Indonesian govt, leading telecom company for Rice Crop Manager Project

To support Indonesian rice farmers with science-based decision-making and help contribute to the Indonesian government’s goal for rural prosperity, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has engaged the Indonesian government and the country’s leading telecommunications provider in an inception workshop on 6 December 2022 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

During the workshop, IRRI signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Ministry of National Development Planning (BAPPENAS). IRRI has also signed an Letter of Intent to collaborate with the Indonesian Agency for Agricultural Instrument Standardization of the Ministry of Agriculture, of the Republic of Indonesia (IAAIS), and a Letter of Agreement with the nation’s leading telecom service provider, Viamo, for the implementation of its Rice Crop Manager (RCM) Project in the country.

The RCM Project intends to design and disseminate a digital agriculture platform that can provide science-based information that will help rice production become more efficient. RCM provides field-specific nutrient management recommendations adapted from the principles and algorithms of the site-specific nutrient management approach developed by IRRI and its partners across Asia.

The platform’s recommendations calculate fertilizer rates based on a target yield adjusted for historical yield reported by farmers. Through this project, IRRI and its partners seek to increase the yields and incomes of Indonesian rice farmers, and contribute to the Indonesian government’s goals for rural prosperity, food security and environmental sustainability, and climate mitigation and adaptation.

The project is being supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, South Korea. It is also a scale-up of Indonesia’s locally known project-Layanan Konsultasi Padi (LKP) which was developed and introduced at a smaller scale in 2075 by IRRI. “I am happy to announce this partnership between IRRI and BAPPENAS which will contribute to the sustainable livelihood of farmers and increased food security for the nation. We…