Coinciding with the 2018 Heroes' Day commemoration, the Statistics Study Program (Prodi) Diploma III (D-III) Program at the Politeknik Statistika STIS commemorated it by holding a "Ubinan" (Plant Tiling) practicum at the Jaya Mukti Farmers Group in Sirnarasa Village, Tanjung Sari District, Bogor Regency.

This activity was attended by 75 second-year students and was part of the implementation of the Official Statistics course in the Production Sector. This course examines the Food Crop Tiling Survey, a routine survey conducted by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) every sub-round with the primary goal of obtaining information on food crop productivity (rice and secondary crops). The food crop sub-sector is known to play a very strategic role because it is directly related to meeting the food needs of the Indonesian people.

This activity was directly supervised by the Director of the Politeknik Statistika (Polstat) STIS, Dr. Erni Tri Astuti, M.Math., and fully supported by the Head of the Bogor Regency BPS, Sarwono, M.M., and his staff. In his remarks, the Director of Polstat STIS stated that this activity was part of the Official Statistics course in Production, a core course in the Diploma III Statistics Study Program that students must master. The tiling practicum is a routine program of the study program and is intended to enhance the students' capacity. Upon graduation, they are expected to become statistical activity managers, data processors and presenters, data analysts, and census/survey officers. The Sinarasa Village Head also received a positive response, fully supporting the tiling practicum in his area.

On the sidelines of the activity, the Head of the Bogor Regency Statistics Agency (BPS) stated that this activity was useful for students in gaining a true understanding of how to tiling using standard operating procedures (SOPs) to produce productivity data, which will be their responsibilities after graduation. He considered theory alone insufficient for fieldwork.

For the technical implementation, students were divided into ten groups, each accompanied by a lecturer from the Politeknik Statistika STIS , a KSK/BPS Bogor Regency staff member, and a farmer. Thus, students are expected to gain comprehensive information regarding tiling activities, from the theoretical and technical aspects of field implementation, including all potential obstacles and tips for overcoming them.

Widyo Pura Buana, MMG., M.T., Head of the Food Crop Statistics Processing Section at BPS, who also accompanied the participants, also stated that this activity helps BPS invest in human resources who are ready to carry out field duties, thereby producing higher-quality data. Students can apply tiling theory directly in the field, providing valuable knowledge for their future assignments. Students gain experience in installing tiling equipment, correctly weighing tiling results, and selecting the appropriate tiling time to ensure that the tiling yields are harvested dry grain (GKP) with a moisture content of 14-25%. However, knowledge of agricultural statistics, particularly food crop statistics, is not limited to productivity measurements. The new Area Sample Framework (ASF) method for calculating harvested area using Android devices also requires knowledge of rice growth phase observation procedures. He hopes that the Statistics Polytechnic of STIS will also allocate time for practicums on the ASF method.

The students were very enthusiastic about the tiling practical activity, as they were able to interact directly with the KSK and farmers. Destriana from class 2D3-1 expressed her delight at gaining hands-on experience with the KSK, considering that they will be the future successors to these KSKs.

Finally, our deepest gratitude goes to all those who supported this activity, including the Bogor Regency Statistics Agency (BPS), the Food Crops Statistics Sub-Directorate, the Jaya Mukti Farmers Group in Sinarasa Village, Tanjung Sari District, Bogor Regency, the Tanjung Sari District Sub-District Head, the Village Head and Babinsa (village supervisory officer) of Sinarasa Village, Tanjung Sari District, Bogor Regency, the Head of the UPT PTPH XIV Bogor Regency, the Tanjung Sari District Community Empowerment Agency (PPK), and other parties not mentioned individually. Hopefully, this activity will be beneficial for many parties, especially the students of the Diploma III Statistics Study Program, Polstat STIS. (Source: Diploma III Study Program)