Smart Precision Farming Elevates Petrokimia Gresik's CEO to "Best Performance" Honor at CBDO Innolympia Festival

Dwi Satriyo Annurogo, the Director of Petrokimia Gresik, has been honored with the "Best Performance" award at the Innolympia Festival Chief Business Development Officer (CBDO) Innovation School 2023 held at the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) office in Jakarta. This recognition follows Dwi Satriyo's initiative and presentation, alongside his team, on the business project titled "One Stop Solution in Agriculture through Smart Precision Farming."

"This achievement is a testament to the significant impact of our program and serves as a visionary snapshot for the future of agriculture," stated Dwi Satriyo.

The Smart Precision Farming program is motivated by the substantial contribution of the agricultural sector to Indonesia's economy, as evidenced by its growth during the pandemic and its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, there is room for improvement, as Indonesia's agricultural productivity remains relatively low compared to other nations.

Dwi Satriyo highlighted that Indonesia's rice productivity, for example, lags behind that of Vietnam. Similar situations exist with national corn crops, which fall short compared to the United States, and soybean productivity, which trails behind Brazil.

The next challenge for Indonesian agriculture, according to Dwi Satriyo, is the declining number of young farmers in Indonesia each year, a trend experienced by other countries as well. World Bank data indicates that the proportion of Indonesia's population working as farmers decreased to 28.5% in 2019, compared to 55.5% three decades earlier. In contrast, other sectors experienced an increase in workforce participation.

"Smart Precision Farming can provide a solution to the challenges faced by Indonesian agriculture by leveraging modern technology. This allows for more effective, efficient, and precise farming practices. The result is optimal yields, increased farmer income, and a renewed interest among the younger generation in Indonesian agriculture," explained Dwi Satriyo.

In the Smart Precision Farming program, Petrokimia Gresik will utilize nano-technology fertilizers, a groundbreaking product developed for the first time in Indonesia.

"We anticipate that this product will revolutionize the landscape of conventional fertilizer usage. The nano-fertilizer produced by Petrokimia Gresik is currently in the registration process with the Ministry of Agriculture," added Dwi Satriyo.

As part of this project, Petrokimia Gresik also employs drone technology equipped with the Internet of Things (IoT) to apply nano-fertilizers and collect geo-spatial data, soil test kits to measure soil nutrients, and drones with Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) technology that can record plant vegetation indices through infrared and red channel satellite images. The recorded data indicates the chlorophyll concentration in the leaves.

"This technology enables farmers to receive precise fertilizer dosage recommendations, facilitating precise fertilization. Additionally, farmers gain information about land size and soil databases," he concluded.

The program underwent a pilot test at the Pagilaran Tea Plantation in Batang, Central Java, on April 4, 2023. The trial resulted in a remarkable 75% increase in productivity.

"We have successfully collected agricultural databases, including the size of the area, soil nutrients, and accurate plant health status. This database will be invaluable big data for formulating agricultural policies in Indonesia," concluded Dwi Satriyo.

The Innolympia Festival CBDO Innovation School 2023 is the culmination of the CBDO held since February 2023. This national event showcased ideas and innovations from top management of various state-owned enterprises (BUMN) in Indonesia. This year, only eight ideas out of dozens were selected for presentation before the judging panel, including Petrokimia Gresik with its Smart Precision Farming program. The three-member jury consisted of Pahala N. Mansury, Deputy Minister of BUMN I; Tedi Bharata, Deputy of SDMTI at the Ministry of BUMN; and Lenita Tobing, Managing Director & Partner at Boston Consulting Group.