North Jakarta Government Educates Students on Urban Farming Techniques

The North Jakarta Food Security, Marine and Agriculture Sub-agency (KPKP) has educated dozens of students from six schools in the area on urban farming techniques to provide them with insight into building family food security. “They are here to gain new insights into modern agriculture, especially hydroponics,” said Head of the North Jakarta KPKP Sub-agency Novy Christine Palit after the Literacy Stage event themed ‘Modern Farming in Urban Areas’ at the North Jakarta Mayor’s Office on Monday. She explained that the students were introduced to the concept of urban farming, which is considered increasingly important amidst limited land in big cities. This education aims to broaden students’ horizons about the world of modern agriculture. “Today’s activity introduces urban farming, while also filling the material from the North Jakarta Library and Archives Sub-agency programme for children’s literacy, so they become more familiar with what urban farming is,” she said. Novy explained that the students not only received theory but were also introduced to various types of plants that can be cultivated in an urban environment. According to her, this introduction is important because many urban children are unfamiliar with the world of agriculture. She hopes that after being introduced to the concept of urban farming, students will better understand the concept and how to implement it. “City children sometimes lack familiarity with plants, so we are trying to introduce them further,” she said. This activity is also closely related to family food security. Students are expected to become pioneers in their own homes by planting hydroponic food crops on their residential land. “We hope they can become pioneers at home, for example by planting chillies or other crops, so they can help meet their family’s food needs,” she added. A student from Yappenda High School, Atiiqa Suciati, admitted she gained a lot of new experience that she had never learned at school before. “I am very happy to participate in this activity because I now know about hydroponics and how to grow plants without soil. It turns out farming can be done at home even with limited space,” she said. The Literacy Stage is a routine programme of the North Jakarta City Government held every Monday. This activity serves as an educational platform for students to learn outside the classroom in an engaging and applicable way. On this occasion, 30 students from six schools were involved, including SMA 18 Jakarta, SMA 41 Jakarta, SMA Yappenda, and SMA Gita Kritis 2 Jakarta.