Bantaeng Cocoa Farmers Introduced to Electric Fertilizer Pumps, Promoting More Efficient and Effective Farming

BANTAENG – Tech­no­logy de­ve­lo­ped by higher edu­ca­tion ins­ti­tu­tions is now being di­rectly ap­plied to ad­dress chal­le­nges faced by cocoa far­mers in Ban­taeng Re­gency, South Su­la­wesi. Through the Com­mu­nity Ser­vice (PkM) pro­gram under the Com­mu­nity Part­ners­hip Em­po­wer­ment Scheme for the 2026 fiscal year, a ser­vice team in­tro­du­ced an er­go­no­mics-based elec­tric fer­ti­li­zer pump to the com­mu­nity in Lon­rong Vil­lage, Ere­me­rasa Dis­trict, Ban­taeng Re­gency.

The ini­tia­tive was themed "Uti­li­za­tion of Er­go­no­mics-Based Elec­tric Fer­ti­li­zer Pumps to Im­prove Fer­ti­li­za­tion Ef­fi­ciency for Cocoa Plants."

This pro­gram was im­ple­men­ted through the Di­rec­to­rate of Re­search and Com­mu­nity Ser­vice (DPPM) under the Di­rec­to­rate Ge­ne­ral of Re­search and De­ve­lop­ment of the Mi­nistry of Higher Edu­ca­tion, Science, and Tech­no­logy (Ke­men­dik­ti­sain­tek). The ser­vice team was led by Dr. (Cand.) Ir. Nur Ihwan Sa­fu­tra, S.T., M.T., IPM, ASEAN Eng., with mem­bers Ir. Muh. Fachry Hafid, S.T., M.T., Muh. Ilham Angga, S.T., M.T., Ir. Asrul Fole, S.T., M.T., IPM, and two stu­dents.

The ac­ti­vity tar­ge­ted a cocoa farmer group led by M. Ha­sa­nud­din and in­vol­ved a youth group led by Ali Akbar Agus, S.Sos., with ap­pro­xi­ma­tely 30 par­ti­ci­pants in at­ten­dance. Ad­dres­sing the far­mers' spe­ci­fic chal­le­nges, the elec­tric fer­ti­li­zer pump was de­ve­lo­ped as an al­ter­na­tive so­lu­tion to help far­mers carry out fer­ti­li­za­tion more prac­ti­cally and ef­fi­ciently.

To date, fer­ti­li­za­tion and spra­ying ac­ti­vi­ties in the plan­ta­tions have faced va­rious obs­tac­les, ra­nging from heavy wor­kloads, ap­pli­ca­tion time, and physi­cal exer­tion to the far­mers' body pos­ture while carr­ying and ope­ra­ting the equip­ment. The Ser­vice Team Leader, Dr. (Cand.) Ir. Nur Ihwan Sa­fu­tra, S.T., M.T., IPM, ASEAN Eng., stated that in­no­va­tions de­ve­lo­ped by higher edu­ca­tion ins­ti­tu­tions must stem from the real needs of the com­mu­nity.

“The tech­no­logy being de­ve­lo­ped must stem from the com­mu­nity's actual needs. The­re­fore, we are not merely in­tro­du­cing a tool; we are also pro­vi­ding an un­ders­tan­ding of its ope­ra­tion, er­go­no­mic as­pects, fer­ti­li­za­tion ef­fi­ciency, and farmer oc­cu­pa­tio­nal health and safety,” said Nur Ihwan.

M. Ha­sa­nud­din, head of the Cocoa Far­mers' Group, wel­co­med the im­ple­men­ta­tion of this tech­no­logy. Direct farmer in­vol­ve­ment is con­si­de­red cru­cial to en­su­ring that the in­tro­du­ced tech­no­logy truly aligns with orc­hard con­di­tions and com­mu­nity needs.

 “We wel­come this tech­no­logy be­cause far­mers can see and try out how to use it first­hand. We hope this tool will make the fer­ti­li­za­tion pro­cess easier and more ef­fi­cient,” said M. Ha­sa­nud­din.

During the ac­ti­vity, the team ex­plai­ned equip­ment and ma­te­rial pre­pa­ra­tion, the mixing of fer­ti­li­zer so­lu­tions, ope­ra­ting tech­ni­ques, er­go­no­mic wor­king pos­tu­res, and oc­cu­pa­tio­nal health and safety as­pects. Far­mers were then given the op­por­tu­nity to try using the elec­tric fer­ti­li­zer pump di­rectly in the cocoa fields, with gui­dance from the com­mu­nity ser­vice team.

The in­vol­ve­ment of the Cocoa Far­mers' Group and youth groups is also part of an effort to foster ge­ne­ra­tio­nal re­ne­wal and build a tech­no­logy-based agri­cul­tu­ral ecosys­tem. It is hoped that this pro­gram will not stop at the de­mons­tra­tion stage but will evolve into a pro­cess of trans­la­ting science and tech­no­logy into prac­ti­cal ap­pli­ca­tions that de­li­ver ta­ngi­ble be­ne­fits to the com­mu­nity.

Through col­la­bo­ra­tion among uni­ver­si­ties, farmer groups, youth, and sta­ke­hol­ders, this er­go­no­mic elec­tric fer­ti­li­zer pump in­no­va­tion is ex­pec­ted to sup­port work ef­fi­ciency, en­hance farmer ca­pa­city, and ensure the sus­tai­na­bi­lity of cocoa far­ming in Ban­taeng Re­gency.