Jakarta, Aug. 25 -- Agriculture must move away from conventional practices and embrace modernization, according to Idha Widi Arsanti, head of Indonesia's Agricultural Extension and Human Resources Development Agency.

"We need to change our mindset, transforming agriculture from conventional to modern. This is both an obligation and an inevitability," she said at a Jakarta event on Sunday to send off the Patriot Expedition Team, young researchers who will help map economic potential in transmigration areas.

Arsanti emphasized that small-scale farmers managing only 1 to 20 hectares should no longer work in isolation. Instead, they should consolidate into farmer groups managing about 200 hectares collectively to achieve economies of scale ...