int controller in flutter code example

Example 1: when i type string in textediter in flutter it shows intger

TextField(controller: _section_id,
                keyboardType: TextInputType.number,)

Example 2: when i type string in textediter in flutter it shows intger

Repository().placeAddApiProvider(_section_id.text as int)

 but it is not work show me this error:
Unhandled Exception: type 'String' is not a subtype of type 'int' in type cast
E/flutter ( 6950): #0      AddPlaceState.build. (package:mosul/src/ui/users/add_place.dart:93:50)
E/flutter ( 6950): 
E/flutter ( 6950): #1      _InkResponseState._handleTap (package:flutter/src/material/ink_well.dart:513:14)
E/flutter ( 6950): #2      _InkResponseState.build. (package:flutter/src/material/ink_well.dart:568:30)
E/flutter ( 6950): #3      GestureRecognizer.invokeCallback (package:flutter/src/gestu...