Food Diversification Campaign Requires Serious, Systemic Approach
The general understanding of a campaign is a method to disseminate information and raise awareness to increase concern and change the behaviour of a target audience. A campaign can also be seen as a policy advocacy tool to create public pressure on key actors, such as researchers, the mass media, and policymakers.
In relation to the policy of food diversification, or diversifying the public’s diet, a truly holistic and comprehensive campaign scenario is needed. A measurable campaign strategy is essential, especially if we aim to create a systemic and sustainable model. The programme to diversify the public’s diet should no longer be packaged in a haphazard manner.
The programme to diversify the public’s diet has actually been running for decades. Unfortunately, its development has been overshadowed by programmes focused on increasing agricultural production and productivity. The government has been more serious about boosting production than about food diversification. We clearly understand why the government prioritises increasing production over diversifying diets: politically, food must be available at all times, whereas diversifying eating habits can be addressed at any time, provided the ingredients are available.
B2SA (Diverse, Nutritious, Balanced and Safe) food has now become the main issue in the government’s flagship food diversification programme. Regrettably, the message of B2SA is only faintly heard, and sometimes not heard at all. The National Food Agency (Bapanas), which is expected to act as the ‘prime mover’ for implementing B2SA, has yet to demonstrate optimal performance. Even more concerning is that the government’s budget support for Bapanas is relatively small. It is equally disheartening that local government budgets (APBD) for developing the B2SA programme are also recorded as minimal, seemingly just to fulfil an obligation.
In Berlo’s communication theory (S-M-C-R), the position of Bapanas is truly strategic. As a national-level food institution, Bapanas should be able to serve as a coordination node for food development in the spirit of achieving self-sufficiency, security, independence, and sovereignty. In the campaign to diversify eating habits, Bapanas as the ‘source’ must have a mature and measurable design for the long term, for instance, a 25-year diversification campaign plan. This design is crucial so that activities are not carried out arbitrarily. The ‘message’ must also be clear; its substance needs to be packaged in such a way that the people can empathise with the food diversification programme. The message conveyed should be able to stir the public’s conscience about the seriousness of diversifying eating habits.
The ‘channel’ generally relates to the media to be used. Many effective methods and media models can be utilised to campaign for B2SA, whether using social media, electronic media, print media, or face-to-face meetings with the community. Lastly, there is the ‘receiver’. In communication science, the receiver or communicant is the party that receives the message from another party. In the context of the programme to diversify eating habits, the receivers are the people who have long been hypnotised by rice as the staple food. The role of the message creator is crucial in determining whether the expected goals are achieved.
The S-M-C-R model by Berlo can actually be applied in the campaign pattern to diversify the public’s diet. However, it is important to note that in striving for success in persuading a society trapped in a patrimonial culture, the matter of setting an example is a serious issue that must be implemented and demonstrated to the public. Diversifying the people’s diet will be realised if the nation’s leaders, according to their respective levels, can set an example of how to consume B2SA food. In other words, we cannot hope for the B2SA programme to succeed if, in daily life, we witness a governor or regent devouring food without applying the B2SA principles.
As a final note to this writing, the author feels it is important to remind the government not to treat the consumption-side approach as a mere afterthought. Policymakers must now position the consumption side as no less important than the production side.