JP\/6\/AAN<\/p>\n
A nation obsessed with rice<\/p>\n
A'an Suryana
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
Surya, an Indonesian exchange student, drags his feet into his
\nroom in a student dormitory. He has just returned from a
\nMcDonald's outlet, some 30 minutes walk from the dormitory,
\nlocated in the compound of the Nanyang Technological University
\n(NTU). Surya bought the Mac as a substitute for his usual rice-
\nbased meal, as all university canteens were now closed. Remember,
\nthis is Sunday.<\/p>\n
Carrying the McDonald's meal -- a big chicken Mac, a cup of
\nCoke and a small pack of French fries -- he opens the door and
\nturns on the television. It is 6:30 p.m. and the 23-year-old
\nstudent begins enjoy the English Premiere Soccer game. Starving,
\nhe quickly eats the Big Mac while his eyes are glued to the set.
\nHe gobbles up the whole Mac.<\/p>\n
As the soccer match winds up, he goes to bed and starts to
\nclose his eyes. An hour goes by. Another half hour passes by.<\/p>\n
"Why can't I fall a sleep?," said Surya, who just arrived in
\nSingapore a day ago. He turns on his left side and right, but
\nstill can't sleep.<\/p>\n
Later on, he is aware that the problem is not in his mind, but
\nrather his stomach. He has not eaten rice the whole day. It
\nexplains why he is still famished although he has eaten a big Mac
\nand French fries. He desperately needs rice, his staple. For him,
\nthe big Mac is merely a side dish.<\/p>\n
What Surya is experiencing is common back home in Indonesia.
\nRice has been the country's staple food for years. People have
\ndepended heavily on rice. No matter how much bread or meat people
\neat, they say they haven't had breakfast, lunch or dinner, unless
\nrice was on the menu.<\/p>\n
The dependence on rice does not pose a problem when the supply
\nis adequate. But, the problem will arise when the supply is low,
\nsomething like what happened to Surya. Of course, in the absence
\nof rice, Surya could adjust to other food available, but
\ncertainly it would take some time and he would have to go through
\na lot of suffering before finally adjusting to the new food.<\/p>\n
Dependence on rice in Indonesia has a long history. Earlier,
\npeople in the various regions had various staples. In East Nusa
\nTenggara, the majority of people used to eat corn, while people
\nin Papua and Maluku used to eat sago. Javanese eat rice, but in
\nseveral places like Gunung Kidul, Yogyakarta, people used to eat
\ntiwul (food processed from cassava) as their staple.<\/p>\n
The role of rice, as a staple food, became prominent
\nnationwide after Soeharto took power from former president
\nSukarno in 1966. Aware that food security was very important to
\nsustain the life of his regime, president Soeharto made a food
\nsecurity program his top priority. Soeharto knew very well the
\nold slogan: "Give people circus and bread, and they will not
\nrevolt."<\/p>\n
Soeharto mobilized all resources to achieve food self-
\nsufficiency, which finally materialized in the 1980s. He was even
\nawarded a UN prize after Indonesia achieved rice self-sufficiency
\nin 1984.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, the emphasis on achieving rice self-sufficiency
\nhas seen a decline in the existence of other staple food in the
\ncountry and further enhanced people's dependence on rice.<\/p>\n
As the demand for rice grew due to an increase in the
\npopulation, the government encouraged the opening of new paddy
\nfields, especially in outer Java island. The program ran well, as
\nit was supported by the transmigration program. All efforts were
\nfocused on the planting of paddy, at the expense of other crops,
\nincluding corn, sago and tubers. People began to abandon food
\nother than rice.<\/p>\n
The culture of eating rice, which was brought by Javanese
\ntransmigrants, later became deeply entrenched in the culture of
\nouter Java. It was compounded by the erroneous belief that eating
\nrice is much more prestigious than eating sago, corn or cassava.
\nAccording to these people, eating rice enhances the social
\nstatus.<\/p>\n
As a result, many families outside Java changed their diet,
\nand they later made rice their staple food. The statistics are
\nconvincing. Earlier in Papua, almost all people in the
\neasternmost province ate sago. But, according to a study in 1998,
\nonly 10 percent of the Papuan population ate sago that year, 20
\npercent ate tubers and the remaining 70 percent ate rice (Kompas,
\nOct. 17, 1998).<\/p>\n
The change in diet has certainly made people dependent on rice
\nand this has not only happened in Papua. At the height of the
\nmuch touted rice self-sufficiency policy in the 1990s, rice
\nbecame the staple food of almost all regions in the country.<\/p>\n
The dependability on rice has not only caused deprivation as
\nillustrated in Surya's case. Rice has become a political issue.
\nPeople will not grumble when the price of cassava or corn go up
\nand down, but people will criticize the government if the price
\nof rice increases dramatically. National stability is threatened
\nif the supply of rice runs low in the country.<\/p>\n
In order to avoid a food crisis, the government and people
\nhave to fight to diversify eating habits. A concerted campaign
\nhas to take place to encourage people to diversify food and not
\nto rely on rice as the only staple. The government should
\nencourage people in the regions to return to their old habit of
\neating tubers or cassava that easily grow in the regions and not
\ninsist that the farmers in the area grow rice.<\/p>\n
The recent case in East Nusa Tenggara, where the rice crisis
\nis imminent due to prolonged drought, explains how dependence on
\nrice has had an adverse effect in the region.<\/p>\n
The region, which earlier saw corn as its staple food, is said
\nto be facing a food crisis because the supply of rice has been
\nshort due to the prolonged drought and there is a lack of diet
\noptions, with rice as the only staple. This would not have
\nhappened if the regions had not heavily depended on rice. And, on
\na smaller scale, this surely applies to Surya too.<\/p>\n
The author is a staff writer at The Jakarta Post.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jp6aan-1447899208", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }