LOCAL FOODS EXPECTED TO REPLACE RICE

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, July 27 (ANTARA) - Rice is the most popular staple food for 237.6 million people in Indonesia, yet the government is conducting a study to promote local foods such as tubers, cassava, maize, sago and sweet potatoes.          Apart from that, an agriculture observer has also raised an  idea to cut rice consumption in line with the increasing number of population which is expected to reach 300 million in 2030.          The idea to reduce rice consumption came up amid the government efforts to create food resilience and promote local foods as staples.       The problem is that can people change their habit of eating rice, even they have alternative local foods? That is the reason why the government is now carrying out studies to assure whether or not rice could be replaced with local foods.          "We are conducting studies whether local foods can replace rice as staple ones. We hope these studies would have been completed this very year," Head of Food Resilience Affairs of the Ministry of Agriculture Achmad Suryana said.           Though there are many kinds of local foods that can become alternative staples, yet rice for many people is a must. This because rice has become a staple for all classes in Indonesia, and it holds the central place in Indonesian culture.           According to Wikipedia.com, rice shapes the landscape, is sold at markets, and is served in most meals both as a savory and a sweet food.  Rice is most often eaten as plain rice with just a few protein and vegetable dishes as side dishes.          It is also served, however, as nasi uduk (rice cooked in coconut milk), nasi kuning (rice cooked with coconut milk and turmeric), ketupat (rice steamed in woven packets of coconut fronds), lontong (rice steamed in banana leaves), intip or rengginang (rice crackers), desserts, vermicelli, noodles, arak beras (rice wine), and nasi goreng (fried rice). Nasi goreng is omnipresent in Indonesia and considered as a national dish.          Seeing these facts on the popularity of rice served in most meals from Sabang in the Western tip of Sumatra to Marauke in the eastern part of Papua,  it would be hard for locals, except for certain tribes, to change rice.           Yet, Achmad Suryana showed his optimism. He hoped that the study on the possibility of changing rice with other local foods would be completed this very year and be reported to the office of the chief economic minister and the minister for people's welfare.       "We hope that, if approved, this program would have been launched next year," Achmad said.          In order to implement the plan,  the government will incorporate it with its 'raskin' program, namely a scheme where the government distributes cheap rice for poor families in the country.          The on-going government's rice for the poor (raskin) program may next year include allocation of local foods instead of merely rice.          In line with its raskin program, the government is studying the utilization of non-rice food stuff, or local foods to be included in the raskin program.          It is expected to include cassava, maize, sago and tuber that have become the staples of the local people.          Thus the 'raskin' (rice for the poor) program will change into 'pangkin' (food for the poor) scheme. This program will include in the first stage the extension of food  packages to poor families which are composed of  10 kg rice and 5 kg local foods (such as cassava, sago, maize, corn, tuber or other local foods).          In the second year, the portion of rice in the 'pangkin' packages will be reduced to 5 kg while local foods will be increased to 10 kg. And in the second year, the pankin packages will 100 percent be composed of 15 kg local foods.          Local foods in Indonesia vary, including a number of starchy tubers and maize. Cassava and dried cassava, locally known as tiwul, is an alternate staple food in arid areas of Java such as Gunung Kidul and Wonogiri, while other roots and tubers are eaten especially in hard times.          Maize is eaten in drier regions such as Madura and the Lesser Sunda Islands. A sago congee called Papeda is a staple food especially in Maluku and Papua.          Besides trying to change rice with local foods, an observer also suggested that people would reduce their rice consumption so that the country's target to achieve self-reliance in food would be achieved.          For this purposes, the government is expected to cut the rice per capita consumption of the people from the current 130 kg a year to 60 kg.          "The government must be optimistic that it will be able to keep down per capita rice consumption to 60 kg per year in the next 20 years, the more so because the country is projected to have a population of 300 million in 2030," agriculture observer Bungaran Saragih said at a food security seminar in Jakarta on Monday.          With an annual population growth rate of 1 percent, the Indonesian population would increase by 2.4 million per year.  Consequently, demand for rice would continue to increase and rice prices would become high.          If per capita rice consumption could be lowered to 100 kg from 130 kg a year the country would be able to reduce rice consumption by 30 percent, he said.          Actually, at present, Indonesia has almost reached self-reliance in food. National need for rice is estimated at 31.68 million tons a year, while its production, in 2008 for example, reached 59.88 million tons of dry unhusked rice or equivalent to about 34 million tons of rice.          Now, Chief Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa said that rice stocks were enough because Indonesia was now almost self-reliant in rice, even it was now able to export premium rice.         "We have reached 98.2 percent in rice self-reliance, we are already in a self-reliant category. So, there is no need to be worried," he said.***5*** (T.A014/A/H-NG/F001) 27-07-2011 10:18:5