The Seventh Community of Practice Forum

Since July 2024, six Community of Practice (CoP) meetings on the Effective Integration of Nutrition Aspects in Extension and Mentoring have been held. The CoP forum was held in collaboration with the Southeast Asia Agricultural and Rural Extension Network (RAS-SEA)*, together with representatives from government, private, and non-governmental organizations engaged in education, research, and extension. In the seventh meeting, the CoP forum intended to explore how effective strategies for nutrition-sensitive Forestry Extension, challenges, and opportunities for future extension innovations were implemented, which were held via the Zoom Meeting platform on:

Day, date : Friday, January 31, 2025

Time : 13.15 – 15.00 WIB (event schedule attached)

Sharing title : Agroforestry Field School to Support the Provision of Nutritious Food (Volunteer: Dr. Ir. Yumi Angelia, MSi)

Social Forestry: A New Key to Achieving Food Self-Sufficiency

The Social Forestry Program initiated by the Ministry of Forestry (formerly the Ministry of Environment and Forestry) has now emerged as an innovative solution to support food self-sufficiency in Indonesia. Since its launch during the administration of President Joko Widodo, this program aims to improve the welfare of communities around forests that have not thoroughly enjoyed the benefits of the natural wealth around them.

In the 7th Community of Practices (CoP) webinar held online by RASSEA on Friday (31/1/2025), Dr. Yumi Angela, Forestry Extension Expert Lead of the Forestry Extension Center of the Ministry of Forestry, explained that Social Forestry is the starting point for food policies that focus on local food security. Although this program is still in the discussion stage at Bappenas, it is already clear how sustainable forest management can support the availability of nutritious food.

“This program provides economic access for communities around forests and preserves nature. “The agroforestry scheme that combines forestry, agriculture, and fisheries is a concrete solution to increase local food production that is healthy and sustainable,” explained Dr. Yumi.

The importance of the role of extension in forest management is a significant highlight. One of the methods implemented is field schools, which have been running for the past five years in regions such as Jambi, West Java, West Kalimantan, and South Sulawesi. Through this program, communities are given intensive assistance to manage forests wisely, produce nutritious food, and strengthen food security at the local level.

Dr. Siti Amanah, Chairperson of RASSEA, said this webinar aimed to strengthen extension workers’ understanding of the urgency of nutrition in food management. “Indonesia is currently facing three major problems related to nutrition—stunting, obesity, and micronutrient deficiencies. We want to ensure that every individual in the future has optimal nutritional status as capital for health and intelligence,” said Amanah.

This webinar also presented experts from FAO, who emphasized the importance of behavioral change in society to support food security. This change does not only occur at the individual level but must also spread to a broader system. This new policy and approach is expected to strengthen national food security and ensure adequate nutrition for all levels of society.

Through the CoP activity with the theme “Agroforestry Field School to Support the Provision of Nutritious Food,” various agencies and institutions are present to formulate practical solutions jointly. This initiative paves the way for a more sustainable future, where communities around forests earn income and play an active role in maintaining the balance of nature and the country’s food security.

The following is Key Highlights of the Meeting about the contribution of the Agroforestry Field School to Support the Provision of Nutritious Food:

1. Indonesia has forests that have the potential to be a source of food through sustainable management while helping to alleviate poverty in communities around the forest
2. Development of forest products for poverty alleviation while encouraging local food security is implemented through the social forestry program and development of KTH independence
3. The social forestry program has achieved management access of 6,371,773.42 hectares, involving 9,642 Decree Units (SK) and providing direct benefits to 1,287,710 Heads of Families (KLHK, 2023). It has great potential.
4. Agroforestry also has excellent potential as a solution to food security because it integrates agriculture, forestry, and fisheries to increase the availability of nutritious food. At the same time, increasing community income and ecosystem sustainability
5. Field schools are one of the effective extension methods to encourage the use of environmentally friendly techniques for healthy and sustainable food production in communities around forests
6. Field schools have impacted farmers’ understanding of the importance of nutritious food from agroforestry and encouraged food diversification with vegetables, fruits, fish, and naturally processed products to improve family nutrition.
7. Efforts are needed to expand agroforestry field schools to improve community food and nutrition security.

This meeting represents a significant step in producing tangible knowledge in the form of briefs, practice notes, policies (inform policies), and recommendations for future practices, which can be emulated, not only in Indonesia but also abroad.

For more information and to access the meeting resume, please refer to the attached document.