Why is Having Long-Distance Relationship Freaking Tiring?

Source: Personal Archive

Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Out of sight, out of mind.

The writing this time is just me ranting about my long-distance relationship (LDR) situation with my new husband. I’m not sure if the quote above is well-reflecting the current circumstance. Us having a long-distance relationship is actually nothing new. We have been doing this for years but somehow still managed to maintain our relationship, we eventually tied the knot in the midst of corona crisis, so it’s not that bad, right? Maybe because it was very exciting at the beginning, but now life puts us in a rather difficult situation. The corona crisis is sadly the reason why, among other things. With this happening in the middle of our newly wedded journey, we had to be prepared about the fact that we might not be able to see each other again in several months ahead, if not years.

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Beyond First Impressions: The Case for Investment in Indonesia

This post is originally posted on GFAR's blog for the #GCARD3

It’s been proven that of all interventions designed to reduce poverty, improving agricultural productivity is the best – Bill Gates

This quote opened Dr Peter Warr’s presentation, “Agricultural research raises productivity and reduces poverty: Evidence from Indonesia and Thailand”. Dr Warr shared evidence of how investment in agricultural research significantly reduced poverty by 26 percent between 1995 and 2006.

As an Indonesian, my first impression was, ‘Really? Are you sure?’. I have been living in Indonesia for all of my 23 years and I have not seen much improvement in poverty from more investment in agricultural research. This statement initially seemed just wishful thinking to me. I studied Food Science and Technology at the Faculty of Agriculture. In class, the lecturers were always mentioning how poor our farmers are and that the situation has not improved for decades. As someone who lives in a rural area, I hadn’t seen a significant improvement of agriculture in Indonesia in general.

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