The polemic of agricultural resilience and poverty alleviation is one of the problems that often occurs in both developed and developing countries, both are closely related considering that Indonesia is one of the countries that also continues to prioritize how the management of the agrocomplex sector can have a major impact on society. The PRISMA program is a strategic step through an innovative partnership between the Indonesian government and the Australian government to grow the agricultural market in rural Indonesia. Of course, by expanding scientific methods, as well as introducing product and production innovations, PRISMA provides an approach that targets systemic market changes, increases household incomes while building long-term resilience. Therefore, Universitas Brawijaya (UB) in collaboration with PRISMA held a soft-launching of the PRISMA-UB Repository, on Tuesday (12/11), as a forum for knowledge in implementing innovative learning activities and research in the field both regionally and nationally. Various PRISMA projects that have been running for 11 years, especially in the field of agriculture and livestock based on Climate-Smart Livestock (CSL).
Vice Chancellor for Finance and Resources of Universitas Brawijaya, Prof. Dr. Muchamad Ali Safaat, SH., MH., said that UB-PRISMA repository prototype is a driving force for academics to contribute in building food security, especially the problems that occur due to extreme climate change such as global warming or the shifting orientation of alternative energy or industry so that food production land is increasingly decreasing. The second factor is the challenge for universities to create creative farmers who have various superior innovations and are able to adapt to advances in renewable technology so that graduates can prove that agrocomplex education is very much needed in the future.
Prof. Dr. Ir. Hendrawan Soetanto, M.Rur.Sc. as the initiator explained that the collaboration between UB and PRISMA has been going on since 2016, both of which have produced various knowledge products in the fields of agriculture, livestock, and fisheries. According to him, this repository will be more easily accessed by utilizing the Knowledge Garden in UB library which has a reputation as the best university repository in Indonesia. “Food security is one of the conditions where food access must be maintained to meet the needs of humanity and this is a necessity, therefore UB must have a role in opening the perspectives of students, lecturers and market players to be involved in the development of the economy and agricultural sector,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Head of UB Library, Prof. Dr. Iwan Permadi, SH, M.Hum, greatly appreciated the presence of PRISMA-UB repository which is used as a server for storing and managing various types of knowledge and learning product data on campus and is disseminated online with open access. The practice of implementing an inclusive business strategy through the Market System Development (MSD) approach that has been developed by PRISMA can be a reference and adopted by all academics for non-commercial purposes. Of course, with this open access, he hopes that UB is very optimistic that the quality of academics and research will continue to increase. The series of soft launchings of the PRISMA-UB Repository also invited several experts such as Prof. Hendrawan from the Faculty of Animal Husbandry, Prof. Dr. Ir. Kurniatun Hairiah from the Faculty of Agriculture, and Prof. Dr. Ir. Suhardjono, M.Pd., Dipl.HE from the Faculty of Engineering in a panel discussion entitled “Climate Smart Practices” to discuss sustainable agricultural solutions, especially on how the challenges and its relevance in Indonesia. [UB PR/ Trans. Iir]
