UNU Jogja Lecturer Ilham Unggara Presents Research at Asian Development Bank Institute Forum in Japan

Tokyo, Japan — Ir. Ilham Unggara, S.Kom., M.Cs., a lecturer at the Faculty of Information Technology, Nahdlatul Ulama University (UNU) Jogja, and a doctoral candidate at the Faculty of Information and Communication Technology, Multimedia University (Malaysia), was among the presenters at the International Conference on Innovations for Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development organized by the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) in Tokyo, Japan, on September 22–24, 2025.

This prestigious international forum brought together researchers from across the globe to share findings and innovations in sustainable agriculture, rural transformation, and the digital economy. The conference was attended by academics and practitioners from Japan, China, Indonesia, Nepal, India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Malaysia, South Korea, Pakistan, Germany, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand.

In the forum, Ilham Unggara presented his research titled “Between Tradition and Transformation: Barriers to E-Commerce Adoption among Rice Farmers in Indonesia.” The study involved 70 students from UNU Jogja in survey and data collection activities.

Previously, in 2024, Ilham conducted a study titled “Improving Agri-Food Sector Productivity in Indonesia through Information and Communication Technologies.” The research stemmed from his concern over the declining food production in Indonesia, particularly rice.

Beyond agriculture, Ilham actively writes on topics such as smart cities and technology-based MSME empowerment, focusing on cross-sector data integration and public–private collaboration. Professionally, he serves as Deputy Secretary II of the Indonesian Engineers Association (PII) Yogyakarta Chapter, an advisor to the Young Engineers Forum (FIM) Yogyakarta, and an active member of IEEE and APTIKOM.

This year’s ADBI conference also featured a special session for the launch of the Special Issue on Inequality and Development in Rural Asia and a dialogue with editors of leading international journals such as the Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, China Agricultural Economic Review, and Review of Development Economics. [Latifah]