Menjembatani ilmu pertanian kolonial dan masyarakat Bumiputra: Peran Raden Kartowibowo dalam pendidikan pertanian di Jawa (1909–1941)

Abstract

Studies on colonial agricultural education in Indonesia have largely focused on government policies and nationalist figures, while the contributions of indigenous agricultural experts remain underexplored. This article examines the career and intellectual role of Raden Kartowibowo as an indigenous agricultural expert and educator in colonial Java between 1909 and 1941. Using the historical method, this study employed heuristic source collection, source criticism, interpretation, and historiography, with Antonio Gramsci’s concept of the organic intellectual serving as the analytical framework. Primary sources include colonial newspapers from the Delpher digital archive, administrative documents from the Kartowibowo family collection, and Kartowibowo’s published writings. The findings reveal that Kartowibowo progressed from an indigenous agricultural assistant to an agricultural teacher who actively translated colonial agricultural science into knowledge relevant to local farming communities. His works, particularly Mardi Tani and Babad Sekola Tani, demonstrate how agricultural knowledge was adapted through education and popular writing to address local needs. This study contributes to the historiography of colonial Indonesia by repositioning indigenous agricultural experts as active intellectual agents in knowledge transfer rather than passive colonial intermediaries, while also highlighting Kartowibowo’s relevance as a resource for local history learning, particularly in Blitar.