AsarNews, Depok — Food is one of the basic human needs for survival. Without adequate food supply, it can impact health and productivity, which in turn leads to broader social and economic issues.

To strengthen community food security, TIKA (Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency) and ASAR Humanity have collaborated to provide agricultural equipment to support local farming production. The assistance includes hand tractors, cultivators, sprayers, hoes, forks, and machetes. These tools were distributed to farmer groups located in Caringin Village, Cijati Subdistrict, Cianjur Regency, West Java.

The aid was given to farmer groups that had previously been assessed to determine their readiness in utilizing the equipment, with the hope that it will lead to good and sustainable agricultural yields in the future. The equipment handover took place on Thursday (22/05).

Previously, farmers in Caringin Village faced difficult conditions due to the lack of farming tools. This was revealed by Dadan Gunawan, one of the beneficiary farmers "All this time, we’ve only had one tractor for more than 50 hectares of land. So during planting season, it was very difficult to work simultaneously. One plot would already be planted while the others were still being plowed," said Dadan.

He expressed his gratitude for the agricultural equipment provided "Alhamdulillah, the assistance from TIKA and ASAR Humanity, insha’Allah, will make our farming process quicker and more efficient. We are very thankful," Dadan concluded after the handover ceremony.

The recipients of the assistance are heads of households who work as rice farmers and also grow secondary crops such as corn, peanuts, soybeans, sweet potatoes, cassava, and mung beans. “This aid is being provided to 250 farmers, all of whom are rice farmers,” explained Arya Wicaksana, a program team member at ASAR Humanity. Arya noted that rice is not the only crop produced by the farmers in Caringin Village "Actually, all the farmers there are rice farmers, but after the rice harvest season, the land is temporarily used to grow secondary crops," he said when met at ASAR Humanity’s headquarters in Tapos, Depok.

The agricultural equipment provided will be monitored gradually by TIKA and ASAR Humanity to ensure proper use and maintenance throughout the farming process.

The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) is an agency under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey. It is tasked with developing Turkey’s international cooperation framework and aims to implement sustainable projects and activities that support the economic, social, and human development of other countries.