{"id":43968,"date":"2026-05-16T10:37:45","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T03:37:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unila.ac.id\/en\/?p=43968"},"modified":"2026-05-22T15:40:29","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T08:40:29","slug":"students-from-various-disciplines-reflect-on-local-food-systems-during-sustainable-awareness-day-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unila.ac.id\/en\/students-from-various-disciplines-reflect-on-local-food-systems-during-sustainable-awareness-day-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Students from Various Disciplines Reflect on Local Food Systems During Sustainable Awareness Day #2"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Unila): The Harvest Team of the University of Lampung (Unila<\/a>) organised a workshop on local food systems as part of the Sustainable Awareness Day (SAD) #2 activities in 2026, which took place on 9\u201310 May 2026 in Bumijaya and Way Gelam Villages, Candipuro District, South Lampung Regency.<\/p>\n

This event involved students from various faculties, including the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, the Faculty of Agriculture, and the Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, as well as two intern students from the ENTPE Lyon engineering faculty in France.<\/p>\n

The workshop was designed to facilitate students’ learning about agriculture and food alongside lecturers, practitioners, and farmers in the field and village settings. Participants had the opportunity to learn in three different ecosystem contexts: an organic vegetable garden, a \u201cconventional\u201d rice field, and a natural farming garden.<\/p>\n

Unlike typical field activities, this workshop was conceived as an immersive learning space, where the learning process was facilitated by lecturers and practitioners (farmers), both in the field and during discussion and reflection sessions.<\/p>\n

The workshop emphasised that the ecological principles underpinning environmental sustainability are key to developing sustainable agricultural and food systems.<\/p>\n

The visited areas are characterised by lowland regions with a dominant rice field landscape and a community of spontaneous transmigrants, the majority of whom originate from the islands of Java and belong to the Javanese and Sundanese ethnic groups.<\/p>\n

During the workshop, participants and organisers stayed in the homes of local residents, sharing living spaces for two days and one night. This experience provided students with insights into daily life in the village.<\/p>\n

Daily interactions, ranging from sharing sleeping spaces, using communal facilities, to cooking and dining together, became integral to the social learning process that enriched participants\u2019 understanding of farmers’ community life.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis activity is significant for students as it bridges the gap between theory and direct field practice within the farming community,\u201d stated Fuad Abdulgani, a Sociology Lecturer from the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences and the coordinator of the workshop activities.<\/p>\n

The first day of activities focused on the practice of \u201cfrom farm to table.\u201d Participants were introduced to the ecosystem of an organic vegetable garden managed by the Lumbung Kasih Group.<\/p>\n

In this session, participants not only learned basic techniques of organic agriculture but also understood how home gardens serve as spaces for food production as well as social spaces for women.<\/p>\n

During discussions with facilitators and farmers, it was revealed that home garden ecosystems function not only as sources of household food but also as strategies for collective economic activity. Women play a central role in maintaining the sustainability of home garden agricultural practices while simultaneously strengthening social cohesion within the group.<\/p>\n

Participants then engaged directly in the harvesting and cooking processes alongside female farmers. This activity prompted reflections that food systems are not merely production chains but also cultural practices and living social relations.<\/p>\n

Ecosystems are understood not merely as collections of plants but as living systems comprising biotic and abiotic components that interact within a continuous cycle in specific environments.<\/p>\n

Facilitator Sevagus Waskita Cahya, Director of Wonder Farm Natural, explained that in the context of agriculture, these ecosystems evolve into agroecosystems, which are systems that involve human intervention to produce food.<\/p>\n

Within these agroecosystems, humans, in this case farmers, do not exist outside the system but are integral components that actively manage and influence the balance of the ecosystem.<\/p>\n

Participants were invited to identify the roles of various biotic and abiotic elements within the agroecosystem. Plants, as producers, serve as the initial source of life by generating food.<\/p>\n

Subsequently, humans and animals act as consumers, while organisms such as earthworms and microorganisms function as decomposers that break down organic matter and return nutrients to the soil.<\/p>\n

The discussion then progressed to the role of humans, who are not only consumers but also the primary managers of agroecosystems. In practice, in Bumijaya Village, this role is enacted at various levels.<\/p>\n

At the individual level, farmers are directly involved in the processes of planting, caring for, and harvesting crops. At the household level, home gardening serves as a source of livelihood as well as a communal workspace that involves the distribution of roles among family members.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, at a broader level, there exist social institutions or farmer groups that regulate agricultural practices, including the application of organic farming principles.<\/p>\n

One participant noted that this approach illustrates how agriculture is not merely a production activity but also an organised social system. Group regulations, such as organic cultivation standards, constitute a form of collective agreement that maintains product quality while ensuring environmental sustainability.<\/p>\n

Through this experience, participants began to understand that agricultural ecosystems cannot be separated from the relationships between humans, nature, and the social structures that frame them. The seemingly simple home garden conceals the complexities of interconnected life systems involving soil, plants, and the humans who manage them.<\/p>\n

Through a landscape exploration session of the rice fields in Bumijaya Village, which was the final session of the first day, and a visit to the Wonder Farm Natural garden in Way Gelam on the second day, participants were encouraged to perceive agriculture as part of a broader ecological system.<\/p>\n

The learning process concerning rice field ecosystems was facilitated by Rizky Rahmadi, a lecturer in Plant Production Technology from Lampung State Polytechnic, and Abah Soma, a farmer from Bumijaya.<\/p>\n

Students observed the monoculture landscape of rice fields cultivated using \u201cconventional\u201d methods inherited from the Green Revolution, where the use of synthetic agrochemical fertilisers, pesticides, and herbicides is highly intensive.<\/p>\n

Abah Soma shared the challenges of cultivation, including the prevalence of pests, reliance on water from boreholes, and how farmers respond to the impending El Ni\u00f1o phenomenon.<\/p>\n

Rizky articulated that in the rice field landscape, efforts towards sustainable practices in accordance with ecological principles necessitate cohesive social organisation among farmers with a shared vision.<\/p>\n

At the Wonder Farm Natural organic garden in Way Gelam, participants observed natural farming practices that encompass a variety of ecosystems in an integrated manner, including rice fields, ponds, and vegetable gardens.<\/p>\n

Discussions with facilitator Frans Cahya, who initiated Wonder Farm Natural, highlighted the distinction between organic and organic behaviour captured in the motto \u201corganic refers to behaviour (of humans), while organic refers to the product\u201d, as well as the importance of consistency in practice, the key role of knowledge, and the challenges in maintaining a balance between ecological principles and economic needs.<\/p>\n

Several reflective points emerged, including the significant potential of local food systems, which are often marginalised by industrial food systems. Additionally, local knowledge and farmers’ experiences represent vital sources of learning, yet they have not been fully integrated with science-based knowledge to become shared knowledge.<\/p>\n

There is a need for a bridge between local practices, science, and public policy so that community initiatives can develop sustainably. The discussion also emphasised the importance of viewing food not merely as a commodity but as part of a complex socio-ecological system.<\/p>\n

Another important reflection that emerged was the necessity for a multidisciplinary approach to understanding food systems. Field experiences demonstrated that agricultural issues cannot be comprehended from a single scientific perspective.<\/p>\n

Students from various disciplines (sociology, public administration, international relations, agronomy, Pancasila education, and civil engineering) recognised the significance of stepping out of their respective \u201ccomfort zones\u201d to perceive the interconnections between ecological, social, economic, and institutional aspects within a unified system.<\/p>\n

The entire series of field trips and workshops served as a foundation for participants to compile reflections and presentations that will be further discussed in a forum and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) on 13 May 2026 at FISIP Unila.<\/p>\n

This activity manifests Unila’s commitment to supporting Key Performance Indicator (KPI) 7, which aims to increase the percentage of active university engagement in achieving global sustainable development agendas. Through this initiative, Unila integrates the five pillars of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as the foundation for its activities.<\/p>\n

By focusing on SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), this event promotes regenerative agriculture as a systemic solution. Regenerative agriculture not only aims to produce food but also to restore soil health.<\/p>\n

This initiative also serves as a platform for SDG 4 (Quality Education). Through experiential learning methodologies, students not only learn theory in classrooms but also engage directly in the field through workshops at the grassroots level.<\/p>\n

The empowerment aspect of this activity contributes directly to SDG 1 (No Poverty). By introducing cost-efficient and environmentally friendly agricultural techniques, local farmers are encouraged to achieve economic independence.<\/p>\n

The entire series of activities is framed within the spirit of SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). The structure of the activities connecting students, farmers, academics, and policymakers creates an inclusive collaborative ecosystem.<\/p>\n

Sustainable Awareness Day #2 is an effort to bridge the academic world, community practices, and policy spaces in building a fairer and more sustainable food system. [Gandhi Irawan]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Unila): The Harvest Team of the University of Lampung (Unila) organised a workshop on local food systems as part of the Sustainable Awareness Day (SAD) #2 activities in 2026, which took place on 9\u201310 May 2026 in Bumijaya and Way Gelam Villages, Candipuro District, South Lampung Regency. This event involved students from various faculties, including […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9192194,"featured_media":43969,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-43968","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unila.ac.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43968","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unila.ac.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unila.ac.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unila.ac.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9192194"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unila.ac.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43968"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unila.ac.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43968\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43970,"href":"https:\/\/www.unila.ac.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43968\/revisions\/43970"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unila.ac.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43969"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unila.ac.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unila.ac.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unila.ac.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}