IPB University Innovation KKN-T Students Utilize Agricultural Waste into POC and Local Organism Culture

Agricultural products cannot be separated from sorting (grading) that adjusts market demand. The result of grading causes agricultural waste that is not utilized so that it just piles up. This also happens in Pangalengan Village, Bandung Regency, West Java.

Seeing this phenomenon, students of the IPB University Innovation Real Work-Thematic Lecture (KKN-T) conducted counseling and field practices to utilize agricultural waste into liquid organic fertilizer (POC) and local organism cultures to spur the emergence of microbes using simple materials and tools. The counseling took place at Posyandu Mawar, RW 20 Pangalengan Village, attended by farmers and community leaders on the recommendation of Tatang, the local RW Chairman.

"Pangalengan Village, Bandung Regency, West Java, is one of the villages with vast agricultural landscapes. That was our first impression when we arrived in Pangalengan. With a large area of agricultural land, agriculture is one of the livelihoods that is quite widely practiced by the people of Pangalengan Village," said Sidiq Grahita Fathurahman, one of the students participating in KKN-T Inovasi.

The agriculture practiced by the community so far is agriculture that uses chemicals such as pesticides. Therefore, when providing counseling related to organic farming by utilizing agricultural waste, the surrounding community was very enthusiastic.

"Is it safe to bury diseased plants in the ground to be used as natural fertilizer before replanting?" asked one of the farmers who is also the Chairman of the Mosque Prosperity Council (DKM) in the neighborhood.

"It is safe, because after being buried, the soil will be watered using liquid from local organism cultures that act as microbes to fight disease from plants naturally," answered Sidiq Grahita, an IPB University student from the Department of Communication Science and Community Development when giving counseling.

Tatang, who is also the head of the farmer group, invited the community to participate and play an active role in the counseling. He hopes that this activity can be applied on their respective farms. (*/Rz) (IAAS/RUM)