Harianjogja.com, JOGJA — The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the habits of people in the world. Fear of the rapid spread of Covid-19 has made people stop joining activities outside the house, including in urban areas in Demangan Sub-district, Gondokusuman District.

Gardening activities in urban areas which have become a routine for members of the WIjaya Kusuma Adult Farmers Group (KTD) had stopped at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, it began again when there was a community service assistance program from the Faculty of Agriculture, UPN Veteran Yogyakarta (UPNVY).

This community service activity of Agriculture Faculty UPNVY is chaired by Tuti Setyaningrum and the members are Sari Virgawati and Maftuh Kafiya. The activity which took the theme of Urban Agricultural Development in Demangan Sub-district, Yogyakarta with Biopharmaca as a Body Immunity Supplement was held starting last July. "Herbs and spices, which is a biopharmaceutical plant, can also be planted in narrow urban areas using polybags," said Tuti in a release to the Jogja Daily, Tuesday (22/9/2020).

In line with this, KTD Wijaya Kusuma, which has been established since 2016, is a clear example of urban agriculture which utilizes narrow land in urban areas to grow crops and raise livestock independently.

KTD Wijaya Kusuma, chaired by Wijaya with 25 members, has dozens of plant collections consisting of vegetables and herbaceous plants that are able to fulfil some of the needs of local residents.

According to Wijaya, although the land is very limited, its utilization is quite optimal as evidenced by a diverse collection of plants, cultivation of catfish on drums and organic fertilizer production activities.

"Regular consumption of herbs and spices is very good for the body. The residents have experienced it themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic; when they routinely consume herbs and spices, they have never had the flu and cough," he said.

Some of the herbs and spices plant collections at KTD Wijaya Kusuma are red ginger, white turmeric, and turmeric. However, there are obstacles in carrying out the maintenance and cultivation, especially in red ginger which has a lot of leaves but less tubers.

To solve this problem, the community service team of the Faculty of Agriculture UPN "Veteran" Yogyakarta conducted training and mentoring for herbs and spices cultivation in accordance with Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) so it produces good quality herbs and spices and able to be absorbed by the market with good selling value.

According to Tuti Setyaningrum, giving the right media and fertilizer can make red ginger plants grow well. Together with students of the Faculty of Agriculture UPN "Veteran" Yogyakarta, observations of red ginger plants that have been given additional media and nutrition are carried out regularly once a week. This is also an application form of independent learning.

Source :

https://jogjapolitan.harianjogja.com/read/2020/09/23/510/1050599/pertanian-upnvy-latih-warga-lakukan-pertanian-kota