REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JEMBER -- Rector of the University of Jember M. Hasan confirmed that the university, located in Jember District, East Java Province, was ready to become a center of excellence in the field of agricultural and health biotechnologies.

"The Ministry of Research, Technology, and Higher Education has appointed the University of Jember as a center of excellence in biotechnology, and we are already conducting research on several embryos to get there," he stated here on Wednesday.

Hasan said the University of Jember has the Center for Development of Advanced Science and Technology (CDAST) that focuses on environment and agroindustries.

"CDAST is a research, education, and community service institution," he added.

"One of CDAST's research results is transgenic sugarcane that is resistant to drought and was discovered by Prof. Bambang Sugiharto," he revealed.

In addition, CDAST has discovered a transgenic agricultural crop called "Golden Rice" having high vitamin A content. The research was the result of a collaboration between the University of Jember and the Kyungpook National University of South Korea.

"The development of transgenic rice will be carried out in the University of Jember's agrotechnopark," Hasan stated.

Meanwhile, the research in the field of health biotechnology was being conducted by the researchers and academics of the University of Jember to develop a tropical disease vaccine.

"We are currently testing a malaria vaccine, and so far, the results are pretty good. The study is being conducted in CDAST," he confirmed.

Meanwhile, Head of CDAST Bambang Sugiharto stated that the center had been establishing cooperation with major universities in Japan and South Korea in the field of agricultural biotechnology.

Sugiharto pointed out that the study of agricultural biotechnology was currently gaining greater momentum to overcome the shortage of agricultural land and the high demand for food.

The ministry has appointed four universities to become the centers of excellence: the University of Jember in the field of biotechnology, the State University of Malang in the field of learning innovations, the Mulawarman University for the study of tropical ecosystems, and the University of Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa in the field of food resilience.

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