Banten Launches Smart Farming Initiatives to Attract Young Farmers
- 20 Jun 2026 19:25 WIB
- Voice of Indonesia
Key Points
- Banten Province is accelerating the adoption of modern agricultural technology to address its aging farming workforce and secure future food production.
- The provincial administration aims to attract younger generations by changing perceptions that farming is dirty, labor-intensive, and financially unrewarding.
RRI.CO.ID, Serang - Banten Province is accelerating the adoption of technology-driven agriculture to combat its aging farming population. This initiative aims to make farming more attractive to younger generations and safeguard future food production.
Acting Head of Banten’s Agriculture Agency, Nasir, voiced concern that most local farmers are elderly and unlikely to sustain long-term production without new entrants.
“The average age of farmers in Banten now, maybe 90 percent, are over fifty years old. We worry who will continue managing production land to produce our food in the future,” he said on Saturday, 20 June 2026.
Nasir said the low uptake among youth stems from a persistent stigma that farming is dirty, physically demanding, and offers little prospect.
He countered that agriculture can be highly profitable when run professionally and with modern techniques. Even small plots can yield incomes above the minimum wage if planted with high-value crops and managed correctly.
To shift perceptions and speed up regeneration, the provincial agriculture agency has launched several initiatives, including forming a Millennial Young Farmers group, appointing agricultural ambassadors, and creating a new institutional entity called the Brigade Pangan. Under this new brigade, the management of farming areas is entrusted to young professionals, including agricultural graduates.
“We created a new institution called Brigade Pangan with management run by young graduates. They manage stretches of land totaling 150 hectares and receive full support from upstream to downstream, including agricultural machinery and facilities,” said Nasir, as quoted by Antara.
The province is also promoting smart farming and integrated modern agriculture. Nasir highlighted smart screenhouses that allow precise cultivation of high-value crops on limited land, using Internet of Things (IoT) technology to control plant needs, from digital fertilization to environmental temperature regulation.
Beyond domestic efforts, Banten sent 21 young participants to an agricultural internship program in Japan in April to learn international-standard modern farming. Nasir hopes the trainees will replicate and apply their new skills back home to ensure effective farmer regeneration.
“Once they return here, it will not be just hoeing again. That’s why they must be facilitated with modern equipment so young people do not revert to traditional farming methods that are seen as less attractive,” he said. ***
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