Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) is an essential food crop for more than 750 million people in tropical and sub-tropical dry climates of Africa, India, and Latin America. The domestic sorghum market in Indonesia is still limited to the eastern region (East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara, Java, and South Sulawesi). Therefore, it is crucial to carry out sorghum research on drylands. This research aimed to investigate the effect of sorghum genotype and planting distance and their interaction toward growth and sorghum’s productivity in the Gunungkidul dryland, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. In addition, the farm business analysis, including the feasibility of sorghum farming, was also examined. The research used a randomized complete block design (RCBD), arranged in a 5 × 4 factorial with 3 replicates. The first treatment consisted of 5 varieties (2 high-yielding varieties (Bioguma 1 and Kawali) and 3 local sorghum varieties (Plonco, Ketan Merah, and Hitam Wareng)). The second treatment consisted of 4 levels of planting distance, namely 50 × 20 cm, 60 × 20 cm, 70 × 15 cm, and 70 × 20 × 20 cm. Analysis of variance was used to analyze the data, where Duncan’s multiple range test (DMRT) was used post hoc. Plant height, panicle height, panicle width, panicle weight, stover weight, grains weight/plot, and productivity were significantly affected by sorghum varieties (p < 0.05). However, there was no significant effect from the planting distance treatment and no interaction between planting distance and varietal treatments. Ketan Merah had the highest height, panicle length, and panicle width, while Bioguma 1 had the highest stover weight, panicle weight, grain weight/plot, and productivity. There was a significant linear regression equation, i.e., productivity = 0.0054–0.0003 panicle height + 0.4163 grains weight/plot. Our findings on farm business analysis suggested that four out of five tested sorghum varieties were feasible to grow, except for the Ketan Merah variety. The most economically profitable sorghum variety to grow in Gunungkidul dryland was Bioguma 1.

Urban farming is a simple concept yet significantly impacts food security and food sovereignty for urban households. Indonesian context defined urban farming as cultivation practices, including food crops, vegetables, fruits, herbs, medicinal and ornamental plants, with some combination of fishes and poultry in urban areas, namely home yard, office yard, school garden, communal garden, and many more. This chapter aims to discuss five main topics related to the urban farming movement in Indonesia: (1) The dynamic of yard utilization and food provision policy; (2) The importance of urban farming in society; (3) Community perception and involvement in urban farming; (4) The impact of the pandemic on household food security and food supply chains; (5) Government strategy to sustain participatory urban farming. The sustainability of urban farming still requires government assistance and intervention, and private involvement through corporate social responsibility. The government must support infrastructure both in terms of policy and physical implementation to facilitate the establishment of a network of business partnerships between producer farmers and various market actors in a market chain to step up the era of urban farming industrialization.

Studies on genetic variety and agro-morphological similarities revealed the promising usage of landraces. Research showing the genetic diversity or similarity of rice genotypes (varieties, germplasm accessions) on morphological, physiological, and molecular level features has made extensive use of cluster analysis. This study aims to investigate the morphological variation of 22 rice landraces of South Sulawesi and measure their distance of similarity using the Gower Method. The study was conducted between September 2018 and September 2019. The study examined 22 varieties of rice landraces from four regencies in South Sulawesi. Observations were made of 22 characters based on the UPOV descriptor key. Principal component analysis yielded five main components with a cumulative diversity proportion of 75.19%, and then used as the basis for cluster analysis. The main component analysis and cluster analysis results revealed that local rice varieties in South Sulawesi tend to form six small groups and have high phenotypic similarities with similar regions of origin, except for the sixth cluster, which consisted of several local rice varieties with diverse regional origins.

This study evaluated the competitive dynamics and yield performance of soybean-based intercropping systems on dryland Inceptisols. Conducted in Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, from March to August 2020, the research compared four intercropping systems: upland rice-soybean, maize-soybean, maize-peanut, and maize-upland rice, against their respective monocultures. A randomized complete block design with five replicates was employed. Analysis to assess agronomic performance includes Land Equivalent Ratio (LER), Aggressivity (A), Competitive Ratio (CR), Relative Crowding Coefficient (K), and Actual Yield Loss (AYL). Results clearly demonstrated that maize-soybean intercropping was the most advantageous system for Inceptisols. While maize exhibited greater competitive dominance over soybean, as evidenced by Land Equivalent Ratio (LER) of 1.91, Actual Yield Loss (AYL) of 1.07, Aggressivity (A), and Competitive Ratio (CR), the intercropping system significantly enhanced overall productivity. Notably, maize-soybean intercropping achieved the highest yields. This study highlights the superior competitiveness and productivity of soybean when intercropped with maize on dryland Inceptisols, providing valuable insights for optimizing agricultural practices in these challenging environments.