UGM Explores Namibia Partnership on Water-Smart Rice Technology

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - Indonesia could expand the international reach of its agriculture as Gadjah Mada University (UGM) explores cooperation with Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), including opportunities to introduce UGM's water-efficient Gamagora 7 rice variety in Namibia.

UGM received a visit from NUST on Wednesday, September 17, 2026, at the UGM Central Building. The meeting discussed strengthening cooperation through a memorandum of understanding (MoU), knowledge exchange, technical capacity building, and collaboration in agriculture and technology.

UGM Vice Rector for Cooperation and Partnerships Danang Sri Hadmoko welcomed the opportunity, saying UGM's comprehensive academic fields could support cooperation beyond agriculture, including technology, health and education.

"We also want to continue and formalize discussions that have been held by UGM. We see many things that we can learn from UGM's experience," he said on Thursday, September 17, as quoted on UGM official website.

In agriculture, UGM's Gamagora 7 amphibious rice is among the innovations being considered for cooperation. Developed for areas with limited water availability, the variety could support food needs in Namibia.

"We have amphibious rice developed for areas experiencing water shortages. We are currently planning production on a larger scale," he said, expressing hope that the innovation would eventually also benefit the wider community.

The two universities also discussed biomedical engineering. NUST expressed interest in biomedical technology, while UGM has experience in developing research results into health technology products.

"Besides agriculture, we also have other fields such as biomedical engineering. So, we are open to discussing possible collaboration in this area," he continued.

Knowledge exchange will also cover education and university digitalization, including learning management systems (LMS), academic process automation, artificial intelligence, and joint online learning. UGM also sees opportunities for cooperation in master's and doctoral education.

NUST Deputy Vice Chancellor for Teaching and Learning Teresia Kaulihowa said NUST is developing a satellite campus outside Namibia's capital that will focus on agriculture and natural resources.

"We have identified UGM's Faculty of Agriculture and Faculty of Agricultural Technology as key partners to help us develop the campus," Teresia said.

"We want to learn from UGM's experience, particularly regarding infrastructure, specialized equipment, and how modern technology can be integrated into agriculture," she added.

The visit is expected to lead to more concrete cooperation through the MoU, benchmarking and knowledge exchange, technical capacity building, and development of campuses, curricula, laboratories, infrastructure and agricultural equipment. The partnership also covers health technology, education digitalization and the potential use of UGM innovations to support communities in Namibia. ***