The Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources Global Engagement and the Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska will host a special seminar, “Can Crop Intensification Help Indonesia Meet Both Food and Environmental Goals?” at 2 p.m. Nov. 15 at Keim Hall, Room 150.

The seminar will be presented by Nurwulan Agustiani, Indonesian Agency for Agricultural Research and Development, and hosted by Patricio Grassini, assistant professor of agronomy and horticulture.

Indonesia has the fourth largest population in the world and half of its territory is covered with forests. The country has been importing maize and rice in recent years and expanded its oil palm area at the expense of forests and peat lands.

Within this context, the Global Yield Gap Atlas can provide key information about how likely it is that Indonesia can achieve food self-sufficiency through sustainable intensification of agricultural systems on existing land. If this is not possible, how much additional land or food imports will be needed and what is the associated environmental footprint?

This seminar will describe initial efforts to map yield gaps for maize, rice and oil palm across the Indonesian archipelago, in the context of a collaborative project between the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and the IAARD, supported by IANR Global Engagement, Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute, the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture and World Bank.

A reception will follow the seminar. The event will be live streamed.