REPUBLIKA, BEIJING -- Indonesia is trying to build a traditional agricultural method so that it can be included in the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS), an official said on Thursday.
"For this purpose, the office of the Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare is now cooperating with the Bogor-based Institute of Agriculture to map out agricultural areas, which can be designed as sites for the GIAHS in Indonesia," Pamuji Lestari, Assistant Deputy for People Empowerment at the office of the Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare, said.
Pamuji added that his office was exploring possibilities in five areas that can be designed as GIAHS sites, namely at Karangasem in Bali, Samarinda in East Kalimantan, Kulonprogo in Yogyakarta, Lampung in Sumatra and Makassar in South Sulawesi.
Each of these five areas has their own agricultural characteristic, such as Kulonprogo is known for its cardamom crop, Lampung for its coffee and so forth.
Pamuji further revealed that his department planned on discussing the matter with technical ministries, such as the Ministry of Maritime and Fisheries Affairs and the Ministry of Forestry.
Indonesia's efforts to turn its traditional agricultural system into a global agricultural heritage will boost the development of eco-friendly agriculture and ensure the creation of a national and international food resilience system.
"The welfare of farmers, fishermen and others like small businesses will also become a priority because the sectors they are developing would have become part of the global agricultural heritage. This is because they have to be developed continuously and professionally without necessarily removing the traditional and environmental aspects and characteristics of the respective regions," Pamuji pointed out.
The World Food Organization (WFP), which has 185 member countries, has decided to include the agricultural systems of 26 states in its list of important global agricultural heritage, including those of Japan and China.
Along with 14 others, Indonesia now has the potential to be included in WFP's list as a country with an important global agricultural heritage system.
"Therefore, we are visiting China to see for ourselves how they built their agricultural system into one of the world's foremost agricultural heritage systems," Pamuji said.
In an effort to support the global agricultural system, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) had initiated the conservation of agricultural systems as world important heritage in 2002.
The GIAHS too is promoting public understanding and national and international recognition of the agricultural heritage system, while simultaneously preserving the social, economic, cultural and environmental values.
With the GIAHS, all stakeholders have been directed to build an integrated approach between sustainable agricultural system and environment-oriented rural development and fishermen's villages, based on their respective potential and socio-cultural values. This will make the products they produce useful not only for the local people, but also for people around the world.
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