Developing High Protein Rice for National Food Security

Prof. Ir. Totok Agung Dwi Haryanto, M.P., Ph.D was born in Magelang in September 1963. Completing the bachelor (S1) program at the Faculty of Agriculture, Jenderal Soedirman University and the magister (S2) program at Padjajaran University, Prof. Totok continued his doctoral (S3) program in Plant Breeding at Kyushu University Fukuoka Japan.

Since 1988 Prof. Ir. Totok Agung Dwi Haryanto, M.P., Ph.D has become a lecturer at Jenderal Soedirman University. During his time serving at Unsoed, he has conducted many researches including in 2020 entitled "Study of Physicochemical and Sensory Properties of Cereal Drink for Pregnant Women Based on Protani Rice Flour", "Effect of Maternal Cytoplasmic on Agronomic Characters of the Result of Crossing Black× White Rice", "Genetic analysis on grain physical characteristics and grain color from the crosses of black× white rice genotypes", and "Agronomic performances of aromatic and non-aromatic M1 rice under drought stress".

Having been inaugurated as a professor of Plant Breeding since 2007, Prof. Ir. Totok Agung Dwi Haryanto, M.P., Ph.D. has taken many research themes on rice plants. "Rice is a food that supplies food needs throughout Indonesia. Besides having economic value, rice also has cultural value and sovereignty value," he said.

Prof. Dr. Ir. Totok Agung Dwi Haryanto, M.P., Ph.D has discovered various national rice varieties that support food sustainability in Indonesia. One of the results of his research is the superior rice Inpago Unsoed 1. This type of crossed rice is a type of upland rice that does not require a lot of water. Crossing with menthik wangi makes Inpago Unsoed 1 rice into aromatic rice that has a fluffy taste and fragrant aroma.

On November 23, 2023, the new superior rice variety found by Prof. Totok has also been officially released with the publication of the Minister of Agriculture's decree on the release of the new superior variety Inpago Unsoed Protani number 980/HK.540/C/10/2020 from the Secretariat General of the Ministry of Agriculture, Center for Plant Variety Protection (PVTPP Center or Pusat Perlindungan Varietas Tanaman) to Jenderal Soedirman University. Inpago Unsoed Protani rice is uniquely suited as a functional food because it has a high protein content. This high-yielding and drought-resistant aromatic rice cross is also resistant to pests and plant diseases caused by fungi. Another advantage is that it has a short habitus so it does not easily collapse. This variety is also expected to be able to overcome Indonesia's national problems in meeting the protein needs of the Indonesian people to avoid stunting.

The research downstreaming of Prof. Totok is also utilized by the people of Wlahar Wetan Village, Kalibagor District, Banyumas Regency in the form of "superbodi" technology applied to soybean crops. The term "superbodi" is an acronym for inserting seeds in the middle of the rice stump. This means that soybean plants are planted after the rice season with a 3 cm high stump that is immediately given soybean seeds. "The advantage is that even though soybeans are dry due to the dry season and there is no water, soybean seeds can still germinate well because they are supported by the stump of the previous rice plant that prepares enough moisture until harvest," said Prof. Totok.  With the usual planting technique, if the soil is dry and cracked, the soybean roots will break and die.

Prof. Totok has received many research grants including from the Directorate of Research and Community Service (Direktorat  Riset dan Pengabdian kepada Masyarakat or DRPM) and Unsoed BLU research. In addition to his teaching activities, he is currently active as the Expert Council of the Indonesian Agricultural Scholars Association (PISPI), the Central Board of the Indonesian Professors Association (API), the Central Board of the Indonesian Breeding Science Association (PERIPI), and a member of the Banyumas Regency Indonesian Ulema Council.

Developing Mangroves as Cancer Chemoprevention Agents

            After completing the Bachelor of Pharmacy program at Gadjah Mada University, Prof. Dr. Dra. apt. Warsinah, M.Si who was born in Sleman in October 1958 continued her postgraduate education in the Master of Environment program at Sebelas Maret University and then doctoral education in the S3 program in Pharmaceutical Sciences at Gadjah Mada University.

            Since 1987 Prof. Dr. Dra. apt. Warsinah, M.Si has become a permanent lecturer at Jenderal Soedirman University. During her service at Unsoed, she has conducted a lot of research; one of them is research in 2020 entitled “Phytochemical Analysis and Antioxidant Activity of Brotowali (Tinospora crispa L. Mier) Stem”, “Phytochemical Analysis and Evaluation of Purified Extract of Tinospora crispa Stem for In Vivo Antihyperuricemic Effect”, “Anti-inflammatory Activity of Date Palm Seed by Downregulating Interleukin-1b, TGF-b”, dan ``Cyclooxygenase-1 and -2: A Study Among Middle Age Women”. Two years later, he published journal articles entitled The Phenolic Compounds of Ethanolic Extract of Date Seed (Phoenix dactylifera l.) Exert Hepatoprotective Activity on Rat Induced Carrageenan and The Antibacterial Activity of Acanthus ilicifolius L. n-Hexane Fraction."

            Inaugurated as a professor of Biochemistry, Prof. Dr. Dra. apt. Warsinah, M.Si pursues a research theme on the development of mangrove plants as cancer chemoprevention agents. She also conducted research on ethanolic extract gel formulation as a therapy for cuts and burns using mangrove species Rhizophora mucronata, Avicennia marina, Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, and Acanthus ilifolius. She is currently registering the Intellectual Property Rights (Hak Atas Kekayaan Intelektual or HAKI) of her research findings, which is the use of Rhizophora stem bark as a natural lip colorant in the form of lipstick.

In her scientific oration Prof. Dr. Dra. apt. Warsinah, M.Si delivered the title "Challenges of Mangrove Plant Development as a Cancer Chemoprevention Agent". It was conveyed that the amount of information about the activity and molecular targets of natural material compounds in cancer treatment supported by the study of receptors involved in the carcinogenesis process allows promising cancer targeted therapy research. The discovery of new compounds in plants has the potential to provide a rich chemical library that is meaningful for the development of anticancer drugs. Computational studies will generate predictions of new active molecules so that they can be used for the discovery and development of new drugs that have chemopreventive and anticancer activities effectively and efficiently. "Therefore, the focus of drug development needs to be refined, from the conventional development of herbal products and synthetic compounds to modern biomedical research through the translational research paradigm," said Prof. Warsinah.

            The downstream research of Prof. Dr. Dra. apt. Warsinah, M.Si is utilized in making herbal formulations by herbal craftsmen in Sumbang Village, Banyumas Regency. This professor who has a research spirit since a young age has received many research grants including from the Directorate of Research and Community Service (DRPM), Pertamina research partnership funding program, and Unsoed BLU research. He is currently an active member of the Asia Pacific Pharmacist Associations, reviewer of the International Journal of Pharmaceutical Research (IJPR), and manager of Acta Pharmaciae Indonesia: Acta Pharm Indo.

Research Profiles

1. Entrepreneurship, Cooperation, and MSMEs
2. Fundamental Science and Fabrication Engineering
3. New and Renewable Energy
4. Tropical Biodiversity and Bioprospection
5. Food, Nutrition, and Health
6. Marine, Coastal, and Inland Area Management
7. Social Engineering and Rural Development

Indonesia’s hidden hunger due to micronutrient deficiencies, especially iron (Fe) nutrition, inspired Prof.Dr.Ir. Suwarto to solve the problem. After persistently conducting research since 2007, Prof. Warto succeeded in finding three hopeful strains Unsoed-fe2, Unsoed-fe-27, Unsoed-Fe37. His persistence in finding solutions to the nation's problems and his interest in plant breeding led him to be inaugurated as Professor of Plant Breeding Science on Tuesday, June 26, 2012 at Soemardjito Building.  His inaugural speech entitled "Harvesting the Sun'' (Biofortification of Iron in Rice to Overcome Hidden Hunger) emphasized his expertise in rice.  Prof.Dr.Ir Suwarto, MS who was born in Banyumas on May 5, 1960 is the 47th Professor of UNSOED.

Prof. Warto’s interest in researching rice has actually been going on since 1994.  Starting from looking for Upland rice that is tolerant of aluminum poisoning, notrogenous nutrient efficient rice, overcoming the stagnation of paddy rice production, assembling new types of Upland rice using local elders, to optimizing the adaptation of pure strains to the environment for production and high fe rice content are some of the works he made.  One of his drivers for iron (Fe) biofortification is that iron is very useful in life.  Prof. Suwarto quoted the Qur'anic verse Surah Al-Hadiid: 25 "...And We have created iron in which there is great power and many benefits for mankind...".  New superior rice varieties resulting from iron biofortification can not only overcome hidden hunger due to iron malnutrition, but also increase the productivity of marginal lands.  This was revealed by Prof. Dr. Ir Suwarto in his inaugural speech.  Fe biofortification of rice plants is a cheap, easy and sustainable technology to overcome Fe deficiency that causes anemia.  The trial that he applied for was to breed Gilirang Fatmawati IR 64 rice with Cimelati G10 rice. After research and experiments from 2007 to 2010, from dozens of strains, seven pure strains were found that have high rice Fe of more than 20 ppm and high yields of more than eight tons per hectare. In addition, three strains were selected that have rice Fe and the highest production potential of more than 10 tons per hectare, named UNSOED-fe2, Unsoed-e27, and Unsoedfe-37.  With Prof. Suwarto's findings, it is possible to solve the hidden hunger problem experienced by many rural communities in Indonesia.

Prof. Dr.Ir Suwarto, MS is an alumnus of the Faculty of Agriculture UNSOED graduated in 1984.  He continued his S2 and S3 at Gadjah Mada University Yogyakarta. The husband of Ir. Sri Marnani, M.Si, besides actively conducting research, he is also active in community service activities, international seminars, and writing in various journals.  The Plant Production Science journal is one of the journals he worked on.  This father figure of four children is also actively participating in various activities.  Short course activities at Osaka-University-Japan, Training on DUS Test for Trainers in Japan are some of the activities he participated in.  Prof.Dr.Ir Suwarto has also obtained IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) for his research, named INPAGO UNSOED-1 Superior Rice and INPAGO JSPG136 Superior Rice.  His works do not make him feel great.  Just like rice, the plant he loves, Prof.Dr.Ir.Suwarto, MS also uses the science of rice, 'the fuller the lower'.  Congratulations Prof.Dr.Ir Suwarto, MS,

Keep going, never give up!