Digifarm: Sistem Manajemen Pertanian Jagung dengan Pilot Project di Kabupaten Karo, Sumatera Utara

As an agricultural country, Indonesia has a huge potential in agriculture sector. Currently, 29% of Indonesia’s population works in the sector of agriculture. Sector agriculture is also one of the government’s priority programs and is rated number 2 as a source of Indonesia's GDP (according to BPS 2020). However, the agriculture techniques in Indonesia are still considered inefficient and outdated, which causes low productivity and welfare for the farmers. Digifarm sees an opportunity by pairing traditional agricultural methods with new technology efficiency. By offering a solution to increase farmers' welfare and productivity with a 4.0 technology, integrated farming management system. Digifarm will focus on addressing the main problems of farmers through capital in the form of production facilities, technology-based agricultural methods, digital information systems, and sustainable post-harvest management. For its pilot project, Digifarm will start with corn farming in Tanah Karo. Tanah Karo is one of the main producers of maize in Nort Sumatra, while North Sumatra is the 4th largest maize producer in Indonesia. Maize is the second most important agricultural product, after rice. Mainly because maize is the main material for the animal feed industry. The national demand for maize is so high, yet local production is still limited. This situation raises controversy regarding imported maize in Indonesia. Currently, Tanah Karo is relatively unreachable by various other agricultural startups, compared to agriculture developments still centered in Java. This becomes a great opportunity for Digifarm to support agriculture development in Tanah Karo, especially around Sumatra.