By
Vietnamese News Agency
Monday, July 1, 2024 | 3:58 PM GMT+7
Experts are calling for Indonesians to diversify their eating habits, using other starchy foods to replace rice, as the domestic rice supply does not meet demand.
Farmers dry rice stalks during harvest in Jatiluwih village in Tabanan, Bali, Indonesia. Photo courtesy of Antara.
As domestic rice production remains below demand, many are proposing a diversification of local dietary habits, but rice consumption is deeply rooted in Indonesian culture and switching to alternatives would not be enough to solve the structural problems of the national agriculture.
However, data from the Indonesian Statistics Agency (BPS) show that Indonesians are eating less rice today than they did a few years ago. Per capita consumption has fallen from 1.7 kg per week in 2007 to 1.5 kg in 2023.
According to Khudori, an agricultural expert with the Indonesian Political Economy Association (AEPI), despite the drop in per capita consumption, overall consumption has continued to grow with the country’s population, leaving the country dependent on imports to meet its needs. national demand.
He said lack of available land and conversion of large tracts to other functions was one of the biggest problems hampering rice production.
Abandoning reliance on rice by introducing an alternative carbohydrate-rich staple may not be a real solution, he noted, because in the case of bread, for example, a lack of domestic wheat production will only make Indonesia even more dependent on imports.
National Food Agency (Bapanas) chief Arief Prasetyo Adi said the government had not put in place a dedicated programme to diversify consumption, but if it were to push for stable alternatives, Arief suggested popularising food products with local roots in regional history, such as papeda in Papua.
Bapanas predicts that the government may need to import up to 5 million tonnes of rice this year, which would be a record quantity. However, only 3.6 million tonnes of quotas have been issued so far.
