Unpad and Ministry of Transmigration Develop Sweet Potato Centre to Support Food Self-Sufficiency and Security

Universitas Padjadjaran (Unpad) is collaborating with the Ministry of Transmigration (Kementrans) to develop a sweet potato centre as an effort to support national food self-sufficiency and security. Unpad Rector Prof. Arief Sjamsulaksan Kartasasmita in Sumedang, West Java, on Wednesday, stated that his campus is currently developing a sweet potato centre expected to become a research and breeding hub for national needs. “We are developing a sweet potato centre at Unpad which is hoped to become a development centre, not only for local but also national purposes,” he said. He explained that the development focuses on research into superior seeds that can subsequently be distributed to communities, especially in transmigration areas. Meanwhile, Minister of Transmigration Muhammad Iftitah Sulaiman Suryanagara stated that the collaboration is part of implementing President Prabowo’s directives regarding strengthening food security and self-sufficiency. According to him, the transmigration programme has potential in the form of available land and labour that can be optimised through support from science and technology from higher education institutions. In addition, the government is also encouraging the involvement of the business world in providing capital as well as ensuring a market or offtaker for production results. He added that the development of sweet potato commodities also needs to be accompanied by business model calculations, including investment needs and logistics chains. “With this collaboration, it is hoped that sweet potato development can run optimally and contribute to national food security,” said the Minister of Transmigration.