A total of 20 international students from the Philippines, Malaysia, Japan, China, and Yemen participated in the Summer Course on Sustainable Tropical Agriculture 2024 (SC-STA 2024), organized by the Faculty of Agriculture at UGM. Under the theme “Delicious Tale from Bean to Bar,” the Faculty of Agriculture invited these international students to learn firsthand about sustainable agricultural practices, particularly in cocoa cultivation, through a field trip held on August 19, 2024. This visit was part of the SC-STA 2024 activities, conducted in a hybrid format from July 29 to August 23, 2024.
The students had the opportunity to visit the Science Eco Edu Forest Wanagama and Processing Unit (UPH) Ngudi Raharjo 2, located in Gunung Kidul. This activity provided the students with hands-on experience in land management and cocoa cultivation, specifically from the planting stage to the cocoa fermentation process.
Through the field trip, students were expected to deepen their understanding of sustainable tropical agriculture by fostering meaningful connections with local communities and ecosystems.
Prof. Ir. Irfan Dwidya Prijambada, M.Eng., Ph.D., a lecturer in Agricultural Microbiology at UGM and one of the speakers in the Summer Course, explained the significance of the field trip.
“Many other countries make chocolate but cannot grow cocoa in their own land. This field trip is important because it introduces the story behind chocolate making, the history behind chocolate, and that’s what we are selling,” explained Prof. Irfan.
Regarding sustainable agriculture in Indonesia, Prof. Irfan also highlighted the role of UGM’s Faculty of Agriculture in contributing to the restoration of critical land in the Gunung Kidul region, which is now Wanagama Forest.
“UGM plays an extraordinary role in the community. One of these roles is environmental conservation, which is currently a concern of the UN through the SDGs. Therefore, the role of universities is not only to educate students but also to make them impactful within society,” said Irfan.
Author: Wilhelmina Alexandra Valmay Putri Aberth
Editor: Agrit Kirana Bunda
Documentation: Media Faperta