PEOPLE in the nation are eating too much rice to the point that nationwide production keeps falling short of demand.
Many have proposed a diversification of local dietary habits, but rice consumption is deeply rooted in Indonesian culture, and switching to alternatives alone would not address structural problems in domestic farming.
“I have always eaten rice ever since I was little, and until now, from breakfast to dinner, there must be rice in the meal,” says Azura Yumna, a 22-year-old reporter in Jakarta.
Going without the white grain for any of three meals a day would leave him feeling “lacklustre”, Azura said.
Many, if not most, Indonesians feel the same way about rice, which is typically processed into the white form with the bran removed, and along with it some nutritional benefits.
The commodity has been the archipelago’s main staple for as long as anyone can remember.
Nevertheless, Statistics Indonesia (BPS) data from February show that Indonesians do eat less rice today than some years ago, as per-capita consumption dropped from 1.7kg a week in 2007 to 1.5kg in 2023.
Khudori, an agriculture expert with the Indonesian Political Economy Association (AEPI), pointed out that, despite decreasing per-capita consumption, aggregate consumption kept growing along with the country’s population, leaving the country dependent on imports to meet nationwide demand.
Khudori blamed this on “structural problems” in domestic agriculture that would require years to sort out.
A lack of available land amid the conversion of large swathes to other functions was among the biggest problems blighting rice production, he said.
Others, according to Khudori, are irrigation infrastructure that lack last-mile solutions, government programmes that have lost their vigour in the long lines of bureaucracy and technology that is far behind the curve.
Resolving these issues, Khudori said, would require years of hard work, but political leaders might lack the necessary motivation, as they would not get to take credit for improvements materialising only after their tenure.
“This is the consequence of the political system we choose, the circulation of power taking place every five years,” said Khudori.
Shifting away from reliance on rice by mainstreaming an alternative carbohydrate staple may not be a real solution, Khudori noted, because in the case of bread, for instance, a lack of wheat production in the country would only leave Indonesia even more dependent on imports.
For a substitute to stand up to rice, it would need to be at least comparable in terms of affordability, availability and nutritional value, Khudori explained.
Karyawan “Wawan” Gunarso, president director of Jakarta-owned PT Food Station Tjipinang, said the problems in Indonesian rice production were land availability, crop cultivation, productivity and a lack of technical counselling for farmers.
“The efforts to improve production must be based on the real conditions, real challenges on the ground,” Wawan said, while also encouraging dietary diversification to improve food security. — The Jakarta Post/ANN
