FOOD DIVERSIFICATION, REVISITING THE NATION’S CULINARY HERITAGE

As the population continues to grow, so does the need for food increase in Indonesia. According to data from the Central Bureau of Statistics (Badan Pusat Statistik/BPS), the Indonesian population of more than 250 million today need over 60 million tons of rice, 20 million tons of corn and 2.4 million tons of soybean every year. Indonesia is still unable to meet the demands from the growing food requirement as the nation still depends heavily on food imports to feed its population.

The high demand for rice is attributed to our society that is still highly attached to the pattern of rice consumption. Due to this, the Indonesian Government is starting to promote a food diversification program in an effort to reduce dependence on rice.

This program is initiated due to the health problems that occurred in a few regions around Indonesia, with a rise in cases of nutrition deficiency and obesity, as well as increased consumption of instant food being reported. Our high dependence on rice is therefore one of the reasons why our nation’s food self-sufficiency program is held from progressing forward.

 According to the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, the Indonesian consumption pattern – which is highly oriented towards rice – makes our society’s consumption pattern unideal. The reason is because Indonesia is one of the countries that has the largest biodiversity in the world, with thousands of food crops that can be planted.

Due to this, the government, under the 2009 Presidential Regulation No. 22 on Food Consumption Diversification Based on Local Resources, is trying to encourage local governments and communities to consume staple foods by each respective regions.

One of the food crops which consumption can be further intensified is corn. Before consumption of rice was intensified in Indonesia, corn is the staple food for a few regions in Indonesia. This is proven through the various dishes served in different regions that are made of corn.

 For instance, in East Java, one of the province’s traditional dishes is corn rice or ‘nasi empok.’ This particular dish is usually served with a mixed vegetable dish called ‘urap-urap,’ chili sauce or ‘sambal,’ and salted fish. The corn rice dish is also well-known in Southeast Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, Gorontalo and North Sulawesi areas.

 In fact, Sulawesi also has other traditional dishes that are made of corn, such as: Kagili Butin, Kambewe Muna, Moronene, dan Tinutuan. Corn can also be used as an ingredient for cakes and other desserts in Sulawesi. The variety in traditional dishes and food made from corn makes this ingredient a great prospect in the diversification of the Indonesian society’s food consumption pattern.

Corn also falls under the category of nutritious food ingredient, even diabetes patients are recommended to consume more of this crop that originated from Mexico. With the number of calories being 100 grams lower than rice, corn consists of both higher carbohydrate and protein content.

Although corn has many positive benefits, there is still a certain stigma that correlates consumption of corn with being a low-income community. This is caused by the low consumption of corn nationally. This stigma that had existed in Indonesia for decades has to be changed. This stigma is also a contributing factor to why our society is still trapped in the rice consumption pattern.

 One of the ways this stigma can be changed is through the promotion of the nation’s corn-based culinary heritage. This particular solution is not impossible nor difficult to implement, considering how the diverse traditional corn dishes are already well-liked by the Indonesian society. Especially today when many health-conscious communities and healthy lifestyle movements are flourishing in the big cities of Indonesia, the collaboration with health communities could potentially help elevate the perception of society towards corn, and so get rid of the negative stigma attached to corn consumption.

Other than that, improved food technology and packaging need to be implemented in order for the traditional corn dishes to be able to follow today’s trend and appeal more for the society to consume. Through a consumer-oriented approach, traditional corn dishes could once more be society’s first choice. 

Furthermore, through the use of improved food technology and packaging which is oriented towards consumers, various small, middle-class businesses that utilizes corn as its base ingredient could have a chance to expand its business. Aside from corn-based dishes and products, there is still a vast array of the nation’s culinary heritage that are root-based as well as other food crops that can be promoted to help the national food diversification program.