Padang, (Antaranews Sumbar) - Speaker of West Sumatra Regional House of Representatives, Hendra Irwan Rahim asked the local government to invite all the existing high education or universities to advance the province. "We ask them to participate in providing input to maximize the potential of West Sumatra," he said in Padang, Friday. According to him, universities must be directly involved in educating the community so that they have an impact on regional development. He said colleges have a wide range of scholarship and many of them have competent researchers in their respective fields. "This potential should be utilized in the development programs being run by local governments," he stated. One of the most pressing issues today is the acceleration in agriculture. West Sumatra has a large agricultural land but most of them are still managed traditionally. "Improvement of agricultural technology can certainly be found in universities so as to spur an increase in agricultural production," he said. Hendra hopes that the existence of universities in the area can give a direct impact on development program. "Many ideas come from universities that can be utilized in the development of regional potentials," he said. (cha)