There are five main topics to be discussed in these international symposia, which will be packed in a symposium. These five topics enable the involvement of participants with various disciplines to support development of horticultural sub-sectors that capture market opportunities, meet consumer preferences and improve the welfare of farmers and involved horticulture actors. The five topics are:
1. Promote the Exotics of Tropical and Sub Tropical Fruits to Enhance Competitiveness and Penetration into Modern Markets
Tropical and subtropical fruits are the exotic fruits of the archipelago in terms of color, taste, shape, and functional nutritional ingredient needed by the body. However, tropical climates create conditions suitable for the development of pests and diseases, so there are many tropical fruit pests infected, particularly fruit flies. This has led to many tropical fruits rejected by modern markets and export markets because they do not meet the required qualities. Other issues on citrus as subtropical fruits are the most popular fruits of Indonesian society because they contain a lot of vitamin C, but the production can not meet the demand of the communities. There are several issues that cause low production of citrus, that are, systemic plant pest attacks, the use of uncertified citrus seeds, and production centers are only present in some areas causing problems of distribution. Therefore, agriculture technology innovation is needed to overcome these problems. It is expected that the information technology innovation can be disseminated on a wide scale, so that it can grow new production centers, so as to reduce the amount of imports.
In this symposium, Indonesian Center for Horticultural Research and Development (ICHORD) collaborates with International Tropical Fruits Network (TFnet), whereas the Directorate General of Horticulture as the Indonesian focal point.
2. Modern and Urban Farming System for Healthy and Safety Vegetable Products
Vegetables are a horticultural commodity that play an important role in supporting national food security and overcome various health problems caused by malnutrition. Vegetables have many varieties and serve as a source of carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, and minerals of high economic value. Increasing people’s preference for high-value fresh vegetables needs to be responded by technological innovations that not only increase production, but also ensure that the products reach consumers in good condition. It is necessary to formulate various technological innovations to support the production of vegetables in accordance with GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) and to improve the nutritional status of the community.
The important topic of Garlics Technologies will be held in the particular workshop collaborated with the Directorate General of Horticulture.
3. Coloring the World with Ornamental Plant Innovations for Prosperity
The floriculture industry grew quite rapidly in the last decade. Based on past experience, the application of innovation plays an important role in supporting modern floriculture industry in developed countries. Therefore, innovation will be a major component in the development of modern floriculture industry in the country. In order to have a real impact on farmers’ welfare, the innovation should be based on consumer preferences. Therefore, it is necessary to identify floriculture varieties that have been assembled based on consumer preferences as well as how to develop the variety in based on agro-ecological suitability.
4. Emerging Trends of Horticulture Impacting Global Markets: The Socio-Economic Studies
The problems in horticulture commodities cause the farmers’ inability to seize market opportunities and participate in the modern value chain. There are various technological innovations to increase the production of horticulture commodities. However, the technology has not been well disseminated, one of them is caused by the socio-economic factors of society and the absence of sustainable institutional arrangements. The production is also often not well distributed, accumulates in certain chain and can not enter the modern market due to various constraints. Therefore, the various technological innovations that have been generated need to be followed by a good understanding of the socio-economic character of society, institutional arrangements and efforts to improve the efficiency of the value chain.
5. Implementation of Integrated Crop Management to Support Food Sovereignty Based on Bio-industry
Integrated crop management is an integrated agricultural system that combines all agricultural components in an integrated agricultural system. This system has advantages such as energy efficiency, land effectiveness and source of supply of funds for farmers continuously. Therefore, the application of this system is important in realizing food sovereignty. However, there are several challenges that must be faced in the implementation of this system, the risk of disease transmission, increase antibiotic resistance in the environment, and the need to pay attention to the capacity of components within the system. Therefore, to answer these challenges, it is necessary to have information about the research that supports implementation of integrated farming system, the realization of agriculture and bio-based food saturation, as well as engineering tools and agricultural machinery that support the production efficiency on a wide scale.