VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Lecturer at the UGM Faculty of Agricultural Technology, Bayu Dwi Apri Nugroho along with the RiTx Bertani startup team won an award at the Hannover Messe Germany event. They made an achievement as the first winner in the Startup category at the 2020 Hermes Award at the event. The Hannover Messe is the world's largest industrial and technology fair. The Hermes Award is a competition that is open to all exhibitors at the Hannover Messe. Besides being able to help increase farmer productivity, this startup, which has the concept of Smart Farming, is also expected to make changes in farming behaviour in Indonesia, based on structured data.

The presence of RiTx Bertani originated from the results of Bayu's research while studying S3. At that time, he found a decline in the productivity of the agricultural sector by 20 percent in the 1980-2010 period. This is due to the lack of access to information for farmers on climate and weather uncertainty. Meanwhile, the prediction made by BMKG only reaches the district or city level, which according to Bayu is not quite accurate as a reference for agriculture considering that within 2 kilometres, the weather can be different. RiTx is equipped with a sensor that can take real-time data on agricultural and plantation land. The data obtained is in the form of weather, temperature, humidity, wind strength, soil pH and fertility.

The data is translated by algorithm into accurate information for farmers, that can be accessed through the application in the form of time information to add water and fertilizer to the current weather information. In addition, RiTx Bertani also provides pest identification features using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and educational features starting from the planting process to end-to-market (the process of selling agricultural products). According to Bayu, currently his startup can be used for 38 types of food and horticultural commodities and only takes 1 hour to install sensors in the field. Moreover, RiTx Bertani has been implemented in 22 regencies in Indonesia in collaboration with ministries and institutions, such as Bappenas, Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Communication and Informatics, Ministry of Health, Bank Indonesia, BNI, and several private industries. The target is that by 2021, RiTx Bertani can be applied in 76 regencies in Indonesia.

Indonesian Ambassador to Thailand, Rachmat Budiman handed over a letter of credential from President Joko Widodo to the King of Thailand, His Excellency Raja Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra Vajiraklaochaoyuhua at Ambara Villa, Dusit Palace, Bangkok through a Royal Audience procession on Tuesday afternoon (20/04). On this occasion, King Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra was accompanied by Her Majesty Queen Suthida Bajrasudhabimalalakshana.

The series of Royal Audience events began with the reception of the Indonesian Ambassador at the Indonesian Embassy by the Senior Official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, Mr. Sumate Chulajasa. The submission of the credentials at the King's Palace took place in a warm and solemn atmosphere by implementing health protocols. On this occasion, Ambassador Rachmat Budiman had conveyed warm greetings from President Joko Widodo and hopes for glory, safety and health for the King and his family and people of Thailand. He is also committed to increasing bilateral cooperation in the economic sector, particularly in the fields of trade and investment; maintaining regional peace and stability; ensuring mutual support in various regional and global forums; as well as in research and development of public health policies, including the Covid-19 vaccine. 

King Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra welcomed Ambassador Rachmat Budiman to fully support the implementation of the duties of the Indonesian Ambassador in enhancing bilateral cooperation which is expected to make a significant contribution to the people of both countries. The Royal Audience event was attended by 6 foreign Ambassadors in Thailand with the implementation of strict health protocols, including the implementation of the PCR test. In addition, the submission of Credentials was also carried out by the Egyptian Ambassador, the Philippine Ambassador, the French Ambassador, the Bangladeshi Ambassador and Ambassador of Portugal. Bilateral relations between Indonesia and Thailand officially began in 1950, although historically they have existed since the days of the Srivijaya kingdom. Then, on February 23, 1952, the Indonesian Government officially appointed the Indonesian Ambassador for the first time.

In 2020, in spite of amid Covid-19 pandemic, both countries have succeeded in commemorating the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations with various activities by involving the community, such as logo competitions, seminars, product exhibitions, and cultural arts performances. The 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations reflects the strong friendship and cooperation in the future, and it is believed that Indonesian-Thai relations will further develop, increase and provide real benefits for the people of both countries, in the region and in the world.

Voice of Indonesia presents Let’s Speak Indonesian, a program that introduces the Indonesian vocabulary and guides you to speak in the language. Mari Berbahasa Indonesia or Let’s Speak Indonesian is a joint initiative of Voice of Indonesia and the Language Development Agency of the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture.  Today’s topic is still about Sakit which means Sick. 

Here is the conversation entitled “Apakah Dokter Ani Praktik Siang Ini?” which means “Is Doctor Ani Available This Afternoon?. This dialog is between Kevin and registration officer in a clinic. They talk on the phone. Let’s read to the conversation.

Having listened to the conversation, now I am going to introduce some vocabulary and expressions related to the topic of the day.

In the dialog, you listen to a question Apakah dokter Ani praktik siang ini? (2x) which means Is doctor Ani available this afternoon? In the question, there is the word apakah (2x) which means is. It aims to confirm information that someone wants to know specifically like if someone comes or not, works or not or if a doctor is available at a certain time or not.

Let’s listen to another example of a question to confirm information.

Kevin                             : Apakah dokter Ani sudah datang? (2x) which means Has doctor Ani come?

Petugas klinik     : Belum (2x) which means not yet.

In social interaction, Indonesian people pays much attention to social relationship. For example, the clinic officer uses the word beliau(2x) which means she in a formal context instead of dia (2x) in an informal context. The word beliau(2x) which means she is the third pronoun for someone we respect.

That was “Let’s Speak Indonesian” for today. Hopefully, this edition can be useful for those of you who want to know more about Indonesian language. 

Indonesian Ambassador to Panama, Sukmo Harsono handed over  Credential Letter to President of Panama, Laurentino Cortizo Cohen at the Presidential Palace (Palacio de Las Garzas), Panama City on Friday (16/4 ).  The event took place solemnly and applied strict health protocols. President Laurentino Cortizo Cohen expressed his welcome remark to Ambassador Sukmo Harsono in Panama. His government will cooperate with Indonesia, not only in bilateral relations, but also in international forums.  He also expressed his hope that Indonesia would make Panama an economic gateway in the Latin America and Caribbean region.

Meanwhile, Ambassador Sukmo Harsono conveyed the warm greetings from President Joko Widodo and Indonesian people to President Laurentino Cortizo Cohen and the people of Panama. Ambassador Sukmo welcomed the hopes of President Laurentino and he will propose to Indonesian Minister of Trade, Muhammad Lutfi to open a warehouse in the Colon Free Trade Zone as a space for promoting Indonesian products.  Moreover, Ambassador Sukmo also expressed his hope that the government of Panama can remove Indonesia from the list of prohibited countries of Panama in granting visas to improve people-to-people contacts.

Diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Panama have been going on since 1979 through the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding done by both countries in New York, USA and this was followed up by the opening of the Panama Embassy in Jakarta in 1999 and the opening of the Indonesian Embassy in Panama City in 2010.  Previously, Panama was concurrently held by the Indonesian Embassy in Mexico City.