Udayana Holds Plant Variety Registration Socialization, Addresses Buleleng Red Rice Issue

• Posted by: Admin
• Jumat, 14 November 2025
• Has been read 30 time(s)

Denpasar – The Faculty of Agriculture, Udayana University, held a "Socialization and Good Practices for Plant Variety Registration" on Friday, November 14, 2025. The event took place in a hybrid format in the Senate Room of the Faculty of Agriculture, Udayana University, and via Zoom Meeting, from 1:30 PM to 5:00 PM WITA.

The event opened with the singing of the Indonesian National Anthem, a prayer, and remarks from the Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, I Putu Sudiarta, S.P., M.Sc., Ph.D., who also officially opened the socialization. The event then continued with presentations by two keynote speakers: Kemas Akhmad Farid Zakki (Director of the Center for Plant Variety Protection and Agricultural Licensing, Ministry of Agriculture) and Gede Melandrat, S.P. (Head of the Buleleng Regency Agriculture Office).

In their presentations, representatives from the Center for Plant Variety Protection and Agricultural Licensing (PVTPP) explained the role of PVTPP as an echelon II unit under the Ministry of Agriculture, tasked with managing plant variety protection and registration, as well as providing agricultural licensing services and technical recommendations. Variety registration was presented as an activity to collect data on local varieties, released varieties, and unreleased varieties, as well as the legal relationship between these varieties and their owners and/or users.

Participants in the socialization session also received a detailed explanation of the registration procedures for local and bred varieties, including form requirements, descriptions, photographs, geographic distribution, breeding schemes, and variety naming rules. The resource person emphasized that registration of plant varieties—both local and bred—is free of charge (Rp 0) and can be submitted electronically through the website ap-pvt.pertanian.go.id.

In the next session, the Head of the Buleleng Regency Agriculture Office presented the region's experience in managing and preserving local varieties, highlighting the development of Munduk red rice as an important germplasm in Buleleng. This red rice has been cultivated for generations by farmers and developed in collaboration with national research institutions.

Since 2018, the Buleleng Agriculture Office has collaborated with a nuclear research institute to implement genetic improvement of red rice through mutation breeding. By 2024, the activity will have reached the seventh generation (M7), with 40 lines being targeted for refinement, prior to testing for quality and resistance to major rice pests and diseases such as Bacterial Leaf Blight, Brown Planthopper, Tungro, and Blast.

The presentation also explained the costs required for screening tests for resistance to each plant pest, in accordance with the regulations of the Indonesian Center for Rice Research. Furthermore, land rental costs for multi-location trials at five locations are still required, as well as support to continue research collaborations hampered by the expiration of agreements with researchers/breeders at partner research institutions and the institutional change from BATAN to BRIN.

Through this outreach activity, the Faculty of Agriculture at Udayana University, together with the Center for Plant Protection and Plant Protection (PVTPP) and the Buleleng Regency Agriculture Office, are encouraging increased capacity of local governments, universities, and researchers in registering local varieties and breeding results. The hope is that local germplasm, such as Buleleng red rice, will not only be legally protected but will also be released as a superior national variety that will provide economic benefits to the community.