MAKASSAR — The Faculty of Animal Science of Hasanuddin University (Fapet Unhas) is promoting the empowerment of people with disabilities through an integrated urban farming program that uses the Alope Unhas-1 chicken. The program offers regular, productive activities that can be adapted to the abilities of people with disabilities.
Besides producing food and adding economic value, activities such as feeding and watering the chickens, observing the condition of the livestock, tending plants, watering, and keeping the farming area clean are introduced as daily activities for people with disabilities.
A representative of the Low Carbon Development Initiative-Innovation and Technology Fund (LCDI-ITF) Team of the Faculty of Animal Science (Fapet) at Unhas, Dr. Ir. Zulkharnaim, S.Pt., M.Si., IPM, said the activities can help train participants’ concentration, coordination, sense of responsibility, and independence.
“For people with disabilities, farming provides regular, productive activities that can be adapted to their abilities. For caregivers, the proceeds from farming activities can be managed to support the program’s sustainability and to create economic value from the products generated,” Zulkharnaim explained.
The Alope Unhas-1 chicken was chosen because it adapts well to tropical environments and is suitable for development in urban farming systems with limited space.
“It is like raising a broiler chicken, which is efficient to raise, but with the taste of a native chicken. The Alope chicken is also a genetic blend of native chickens in Sulawesi, so its resilience to the environment, especially to heat, is beyond doubt,” said Zulkharnaim.
The integrated concept combines raising chickens and growing plants in a single chain of activities. This approach allows space and resources to be used efficiently while opening opportunities to manage by-products and organic waste.
The program also positions people with disabilities as participants in production, learning, and interaction with their environment. They are not passive beneficiaries but autonomous, self-reliant actors.
The activity directly supports the achievement of SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) by strengthening the inclusion and empowerment of people with disabilities. The outreach event for the Alope Unhas-1 Integrated Urban Farming program was held by the LCDI-ITF Team of Fapet Unhas on Friday (11 September 2026) at Sentra Wijaya Makassar.*/fapet/aya)
Editor : Ishaq Rahman
This article is an English translation of the original Indonesian report.