UNS — Proud achievement was again obtained by Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta student. Muhammad Safrudin Musthofa from the Agricultural Extension & Communication Program (PKP) Faculty of Agriculture (FP) UNS won the 1st position after eliminated 118 other participants in Pagelaran Kapitu “ZENEMIC” (Z Generation Nandur di Tengah Pandemic) Essay Competition Universitas Gajah Mada (UGM) 2020.
Under the supervision of Gani Cahyo Handoyo S.P., M.Si., as the supervisor of Scientific Study Group (KSI) FP, Safrudin submitted a study titled “SEMARTANI: Crowdfunding and Marketplace Based Apps as a Pioneer in Revitalizing the Local Agricultural Products to Improve Farmer’s Welfare amid the Pandemic” prepared in 3 weeks. After went through the competition’s stages, Safrudin was announced as the first winner on Saturday (14/11/2020) through @prodipkp.ugm Instagram account.
The SEMARTANI app started from Safrudin’s concern for farmer’s welfare amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The small farmers experienced many problems, such as the obstructed distribution channel due to the lockdown policy or the Large-scale Social Distancing (PSBB) policy in several regions, drastic decline of farmer exchange rates, and profound losses of capital. Safrudin also added the problem of pricing played by the middle man, which brings the price further down.
The SEMARTANI app will integrate the crowdfunding and marketplace apps, which will facilitate access to capital and sales of agricultural products. “This app is expected to increase farmer’s welfare amid the pandemic,” Safrudin explained to uns.ac.id, Monday (30/11/2020). In the future, he also hopes that this idea can be realized through collaboration with various parties, the government, regional stakeholders, and farmers. “All to improve farmer’s welfare amid the pandemic,” he concluded. Humas UNS
Reporter: Zalfaa Azalia Pursita
Editor: Dwi Hastuti
