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.