Jakarta (ANTARA) - The National Food Agency (Bapanas) is seeking to make local food a pillar for efforts to achieve food self-sufficiency by strengthening the diversification of food consumption and making optimal use of local Indonesian foods.Bapanas head Arief Prasetyo Adi said that this step is in line with the mandate of Presidential Regulation (Perpres) No. 81 of 2024 concerning the Acceleration of Food Consumption Diversification Based on Local Resource Potential.
“Perpres No. 81/2024 serves as a strong road map to accelerate food consumption diversification. Local food is a foundation for building an independent, healthy, and sustainable national food system,” he said in a statement released here on Saturday.
He emphasized that the development of local foods is not only a solution for food security, but also a part of the national food ecosystem transformation.
“By utilizing local food potentials such as sorghum, sago, corn, cassava, and breadfruit, we are not only strengthening food resilience but also encouraging regional economic growth,” he said.
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One example of this commitment is the sorghum harvesting and post-harvest processing activity conducted at the Sorghum Center Indonesia-Sekemala Integrated Farming (SEIN Farm) in Bandung city, West Java.
“We should no longer rely solely on rice and wheat. We have alternative carbohydrate sources like cassava, sago, corn, bananas, breadfruit, and certainly, sorghum,” Adi highlighted.
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Meanwhile, the deputy for food consumption diversification and safety at Bapanas, Andriko Noto Susanto, stressed the importance of bolstering food diversification to strengthen national food resilience.
He said that sorghum and other local foods can be major contributors to such efforts. With serious development, they can serve as enriched carbohydrate sources in addition to rice and wheat, while creating new economic value, he added.
