•    HOME   
•    NEWS   
•    BUSINESS   
•    INTERNATIONAL   
•    TECH   
•    SPORTS   
•    LIFE & TIMES   
•    OPINION   
•    MY JAKARTA   
•    BLOGS   

The Ministry of Agriculture has pledged to reduce rice consumption over the next few years as it seeks to boost food security and ensure that people eat a more balanced diet.

Achmad Suryana, head of the food security agency at the Agriculture Ministry, said on Monday that the government planned to promote alternative staples such as cassava, corn and sago.

Speaking at a press conference in Jakarta, he revealed that the government would increase the funding for its food-diversification program from Rp 60 billion ($6.4 million) this year to Rp 64 billion in 2010. He expects spending on the program, which helps farmers to grow staples other than rice, to double in 2011.

The average Indonesian consumes 104.2 kilograms of rice per year, according to data from the National Socioeconomic Survey (Susenas). The ministry wants to reduce that to 99.3 kilograms by 2011 and 91 kilograms by 2015.

Indonesians are the biggest consumers of rice per capita in Asia. By comparison, Malaysia consumes only 80 kilograms of rice per capita per year and Japan only 45 kilograms.

This high level of demand makes the country more vulnerable to a food crisis because rice supplies are likely to come under pressure from climate change and the loss of agricultural land to development. The fondness for rice also causes nutritional problems. Poorer people tend to substitute rice for more expensive protein-rich foods such as meat and eggs.

Indonesia produces many other staple foods, with corn, sago, and cassava available in different areas. However, most people choose to eat rice because the consumption of traditional staples such as cassava is still regarded by many as a sign of poverty.

“If we were to stop eating rice and switch to other foods such as cassava and corn, people will think that we are poor since we cannot afford rice for our staple food,” said Winarno Tohir, the chairman of the Progressive Fishermen and Farmers Association (KTNA).

This must be changed by encouraging people to turn to other sources of carbohydrates, Winarno said.

He called for cooperation between culinary experts and food producers to re-fashion traditional staples into more interesting types of food.

In early November, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) predicted that the national output of unhusked rice this year was expected to reach 63.84 million tons, a 5.83 percent increase over last year. The rise indicated that the El Nino climate phenomenon would have only a limited impact on rice production, the BPS said.