Lampung Governor: Research and Innovation to Accelerate Downstreaming in Villages
Bandarlampung (ANTARA) - The Governor of Lampung, Rahmat Mirzani Djausal, stated that the continuous development of research and innovation by universities in his region can help accelerate the downstream processing of commodities at the village level.
“The potential for food resources in Lampung Province is immense, with a land area of approximately 3.3 million hectares and a population of around 9.6 million people. Lampung possesses a strong economic foundation in the agriculture, plantation, livestock, and fisheries sectors,” said Governor Rahmat Mirzani Djausal in Bandarlampung on Tuesday.
He noted that Lampung, being one of the nation’s primary food hubs with various superior commodity potentials, requires support in the development of science, research, innovation, and technology from higher education institutions.
“Technology must be adapted to the ecosystem. Moving forward, research, science, and technology must be tailored to specific needs, so that the resulting added value can be integrated down to the lowest level,” he said.
He explained that universities in Lampung could play a larger role as centres for applied technology development to support community needs, specifically to accelerate the downstream processing of commodities in villages.
“Several technological needs that can be developed together include dryers, feed pressing machines, mixers, agricultural mechanisation machinery, and technology to support production efficiency and commodity processing in villages,” he added.
According to him, with the support of research and innovation, these advancements can serve as a solution to one of the main challenges: the limited downstreaming of food commodities. Currently, most of Lampung’s commodities are still sold in their raw form, meaning the added value and job creation opportunities are not yet fully enjoyed by local communities.
“Therefore, the Lampung Provincial Government is encouraging a downstream model that is not only based on large-scale industry but is also developed inclusively down to the village level. Downstreaming must align with the existing structure and resources. Areas that have not yet undergone downstreaming must be designed to be inclusive and capable of absorbing labour,” he added.
He noted that large-scale industrial downstreaming has limitations in labour absorption due to increasingly modern industrial technology. Conversely, Lampung faces an annual challenge with the high number of graduates from high schools, vocational schools, and universities who require employment.
Consequently, developing a village-based economy is one of the solutions to create jobs while simultaneously increasing the value of local commodities.
“One of the steps being prepared by the Lampung Provincial Government is the construction of commodity drying facilities, or dryers, in villages, and encouraging the development of innovation and research,” he said.
He stated that the presence of dryers in villages would ensure that commodities are no longer sold entirely in a raw state. Following the drying process, commodities can proceed to other processing stages.
“Once dryers are established, feed can be produced. Ultimately, villages can produce poultry feed and subsequently develop poultry farming. Thus, instead of villages only having raw commodities, in the future, there will be rice, feed, chicken, fish, eggs, and other products,” he explained.
He remarked that this concept is part of the effort to build food sovereignty from the grassroots level. Villages should not merely serve as suppliers of raw materials but should also become production and processing hubs capable of meeting their own community’s needs.