UBSI Lecturers Secure ICARE 2026 Competitive Grant to Develop Smart Technology for Potato Seeding

Universitas Bina Sarana Informatika (UBSI) has demonstrated its commitment as a Creative Digital Campus through a proud achievement in the research field. A team of UBSI lecturers successfully secured a Competitive Grant (CG) under the Integrated Corporation of Agricultural Resource Empowerment (ICARE) West Java 2026 Partnership Programme through research that integrates digital technology and biotechnology to improve the quality of potato seeding. The research proposal, titled ‘Transformation of Potato Seeding Through Integration of Digital Technology and Ex-Vitro Biotechnology with the I-CARE Garut Corporation Smart Agrologistics System’, was led by Taufik Baidawi as the Principal Proposer and Head of the Software Engineering (RPL) Study Programme at UBSI. In its implementation, Taufik leads a research team consisting of Jennie Sundari, Mochammad Nandi Susila, Sifa Fauziah, Kresna Ramanda, Sulaeman Hadi Sukmana, Musriatun Napiah, and Endang Wahyudi. The research involves collaboration with researchers from the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), BRMP West Java, the Horticulture BBRMP, PT Horti Agro Makro (CHAMP), and the Sukaresmi Mulus Rahayu Cooperative as an implementation partner. The ICARE West Java Competitive Grant programme is a strategic programme of the Ministry of Agriculture supported by the Agricultural Assembly and Modernisation Agency (BRMP) together with the World Bank. Through this competitive funding scheme, researchers are encouraged to produce innovations that can increase the productivity, efficiency, and competitiveness of Indonesia’s agricultural sector. In this research, the UBSI lecturer team is developing a potato seeding transformation model through the integration of ex-vitro technology bioreactors with a smart agrologistics system. This approach is expected to improve seeding quality, accelerate distribution processes, strengthen transparency in the supply chain, and support the formation of a modern, independent, and competitive farmer corporation model. Taufik, Head of the Research Team and Head of the Software Engineering Study Programme at UBSI, stated that this success is the result of synergy between various parties in presenting innovations capable of answering the future challenges of the agricultural sector. According to him, the future transformation of agriculture requires a technological touch from upstream to downstream as well as close collaboration between academics, research institutions, industry, and farmer groups. ‘Through the combination of ex-vitro seeding biotechnology with smart agrologistics, this research is designed to address the challenges of efficiency, productivity, and transparency in potato seed distribution, while realising an independent and highly competitive I-CARE Garut farmer corporation model. We greatly appreciate the trust from the Ministry of Agriculture, the Agricultural Assembly and Modernisation Agency (BRMP), and the World Bank to realise this modernisation,’ said Taufik. He added that this achievement is not only a milestone for the UBSI research team but also proof that collaboration between universities, research institutions, government, industry, and farmer groups can produce innovations that provide real benefits for the development of the national agricultural sector. The success in securing the ICARE West Java 2026 Competitive Grant further reinforces UBSI’s commitment to building a collaborative, innovative, and impactful research culture. Through synergy with various strategic partners, UBSI continues to encourage the emergence of technology-based solutions capable of addressing various challenges in the agricultural sector, food security, and other strategic fields as part of the university’s real contribution to national development.