Green Education to strengthen human capital: the way forward
In the spirit of further shaping the future collaboration on Green Education between Indonesia and the Netherlands, an event will be organized on the 30th of June 2021. The aim of this event is to disseminate achievements and share lessons learnt of a three-year pilot project and to sign a new technical agreement as a basis for continuing the collaboration on Green Education.
Starting from 2016, Indonesia and the Netherlands work together to improve vocational education in Indonesia (TVET), in particular in Agriculture. The objective of this collaboration is to empower schools, students, farmers and industry to produce competent graduates that fit labour market needs and contribute to a modern farming sector and sustainable food production in Indonesia. The results achieved so far and the opportunities to continue the Indonesian-Dutch cooperation in the field of agriculture are highlighted in the publication ‘Green education to strengthen human capital’.
For the second phase (2021 - 2024) of the collaboration a number of specific priority areas has been indicated, e.g., building innovative high-tech approaches in the Indonesian agricultural sector through vocational education. The development of the agricultural sector is also closely related to dealing with some of the major challenges of our time, such as climate change and climate adaptation, and the Netherlands has the ambition to play a leading role in research, education, collaboration and promoting sustainable food production as part of a circular economy.
Another top priority is improving the reputation of agriculture among the young generation (‘Millennials’). A large proportion of young people does not feel attracted to agriculture. They see agriculture as an old-fashioned sector not offering many attractive future opportunities. As a result, the labour force in agriculture is coping with a shrinking and ageing population. Therefore, agriculture needs to be revamped as a sector with a lot of opportunities for technology-based agriculture and innovation. In this regard, the Empower Youth4Food campaign was launched on 22nd of April 2021, with key messages from the Netherlands Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality and the Director General for Agricultural Extension and Human Resources Development, of the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture. This campaign aims to inspire the young generation to become more involved and shape a future for food production based on principles of sustainability. The one-year campaign will unfold throughout the Southeast Asia region and include inspiring stories of NL alumni working in the field of agriculture, alumni talks and seminars, and a Southeast Asia Virtual Career Fair.
The campaign also features the Changemaker Challenge , which encourages students from vocational- up to university level to come up with ideas to stimulate innovations for a sustainable agri-food value chain in the region. The winners of the challenge will be awarded with prize money to turn their innovative ideas into reality. Improving vocational education has a direct impact on the quality of human resources, sustainable food production and the welfare of the population in both countries. The mutual interest of Indonesia and the Netherlands in agriculture will be a fertile ground to continue engaging the Indonesian and Dutch knowledge and private sectors to shape Green Education, Agriculture and sustainable food production in Indonesia.