PT DAHANA’s Social & Environmental Responsibility (SER) Unit invited SMKN (Vocational School) Cibogo Vocational students to plant chili trees in order to increase the younger generation’s awareness of national food security. The chili planting activity was carried out in PT DAHANA Nursery Edupark area, Subang, West Java, on Monday, October 7, 2024.
Head of DAHANA SER Unit Eman Suherman said that the chili planting activity was an implementation of the Nursery Edupark program to provide education on agriculture, fisheries, and animal husbandry to the younger generation around the Company. DAHANA hoped that the chili planting activity can increase awareness on national food security.
“This chili planting activity is also a form of the Company support to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) point 4 regarding quality education and point 8 on ‘decent work and economic growth’,” said Mr Suherman.
According to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), farmers’ jobs are starting to age, where there is an increase in the number of farmers over the age of 55, and a decrease in farmers under the age of 44. Young Indonesians are starting to leave the important economic sector in Indonesia.
From the results of the Jakpat survey, only 6 out of 100 Gen-Z Indonesians are interested in working in the agricultural sector. One of the reasons Gen-Z is not interested in farming job is because farming lacks of career development, carries a lot of risks with low appreciation and is considered as an unpromising job.
Mr Suherman added that agriculture abandoned by young people is very threatening to Indonesia’s future food security. Therefore, through coaching programs from Nursery Edupark, DAHANA really hopes that the young generation of Indonesia, especially those around the company, can explore more profitable economic potentials in the agricultural sector.
“Today, we are running an agricultural education program by planting 700 chili trees. We hope that the young generation around the company, especially students at SMKN Subang can care about food security, and prove that the profession of a farmer can also provide sustainable economic benefits,” concluded Eman.