Co-constructing principles for Digital Farmer Field School Enrekang Design in South Sulawesi - Indonesia

¹ Research Centre for Communication, Social Ecological Learning, and Sustainable Environment, University of Muhammadiyah Enrekang, South Sulawesi – Indonesia
² Research Group for Communication, Participation and Social Ecological Learning, Van Hall Larenstein – The University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands
³ District Livestock and Fisheries Office, Enrekang District, South Sulawesi – Indonesia
⁴ District Environment Office, Enrekang District, South Sulawesi – Indonesia
⁵ District Agriculture Office, Enrekang District, South Sulawesi – Indonesia

^* Corresponding author: Nurdahalia Lairing: lialairing@unimen.ac.id, nurdahlia_lairing@yahoo.com
^* Loes Witteveen: loes.witteveen@hvhl.nl

Abstract

Considering the challenges on sustainable agriculture in the district, different institutions join hands to overcome these issues and respond to the felt need of working more integrative both in the agricultural sector and environmental knowledge system. Adding a sense of urgency due to COVID-19 into problem analysis, these institutions accelerated the ambition to develop a Digital Farmer Field School (DFFS). This paper elaborates on the co-construction of principles for the design of a Digital Farmer Field School (DFFS) by the local stakeholders in Enrekang district. The local design team design of the DFFS Enrekang is composed of a transdisciplinary team from relevant government institutions and research institutions. The design principles of DFFS are built around inclusive design principles, concepts of interface usability based on different type of access to digital technology models, responsible innovation criteria and learning principles of farmer field school (FFS). The DFFS Enrekang design principles serve as guiding principles and shared value among the collaborating institutions to combine ambition, inspiration, and accountability in the DFFS management and development processes. This tablet based digital learning platform aims to provide an alternative for farmers to access information on sustainable agricultural and environmental practices.