Kupastuntas.co, Lampung English - The Ministry of Home Affairs (Kemendagri) encourages local governments to diversify food to overcome the scarcity of rice commodities due to the impact of El Nino.

This is because the dry conditions resulting from the prolonged El Nino phenomenon have reduced domestic rice production, resulting in an increase in the price of rice on the market.

When asked for information, Assistant II for Economy and Development of the Lampung Provincial Government, Kusnardi, said that his party had been diversifying food for a long time.

"We have long diversified our food. So many sources of carbohydrates don't just come from rice. However, consuming rice has become a culture," he said, Sunday, October 8 2023.

Kusnardi also said that the level of rice consumption in Lampung Province continues to decline. From previously 110 kilograms per capita per year, it is now below 90 kilograms per capita per year.

"Our rice consumption continues to decrease, currently it has fallen to 110, now it is in the 90s. This is usually an anomaly in demand for carbohydrates. The richer people are, the less likely they are to eat carbohydrates," he explained.

According to him, food diversification that has been carried out for a long time is the cassava commodity. Where cassava has great benefits if consumed by blood sugar sufferers.

"Cassava is low in carbohydrates so it is good for blood sugar sufferers. We continue to promote it by processing analog rice," he said.

Kusnardi also said that his party continues to carry out a campaign not to throw away food to people in Lampung Province.

"We have to start reducing rice, our campaign is also not to throw away food. Because if every household throws away rice a day, if you add it up, this will be an extraordinary amount," he said.

Meanwhile, Head of the Lampung Province Food Security, Food Crops and Horticulture Service, Bani Ispriyanto, said that several commodities that had been diversified ranged from corn, cassava, banana to porang.

"We have also currently developed mocaf flour, this is to reduce dependence on wheat flour. This has been developed by the community," he said.

Bani explained that food diversification, apart from reducing dependence on rice, is also an effort to maintain regional food security.

"With this food diversification, rice consumption can decrease, even if only slightly. But at least it can help regional food security," he explained.

Reporting from the official website of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), the intensity of El Nino has continued to strengthen since early July. BMKG predicts that the peak impact of El Nino will be felt in August to September 2023.

Meanwhile, the Lampung Provincial Government plans to again provide price subsidies for rice commodities which will be distributed through a market operation scheme.

Assistant II for the Economy and Development of the Lampung Provincial Government, Kusnardi, said that currently his party is calculating how much subsidy will be given.

"We plan to subsidize medium rice again to the community. We are currently working out how much it will be and what the mechanism will be and where the funds will come from," he said when asked for information in his office, Thursday (5/10).

He said that the calculations carried out must be careful. This is because the price of rice on the market currently continues to fluctuate.

"We are currently calculating the nominal because currently the price of raw rice is still volatile. However, if we refer to the HET (highest retail price) for medium rice, IDR 11,900 per kilogram," he concluded. (*)