Poor eating cassava in Boyolali, W. Lombok

JAKARTA (JP): Thousands of people in Boyolali, Central Java, and West Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, have started eating dried cassava following failed harvests in the two regions.

Poor people living around the Kedungombo Dam in Boyolali regency are consuming processed cassava, known locally as tiwul, because they are no longer able to purchase rice because their own harvests have been destroyed.

Yasdi and Sudin, residents of Kedungmulyo district confirmed that almost all people living around the big dam had no alternative food to the tiwul because they could not afford to buy rice.

"Rice of low-quality costs Rp 3,500 (32 U.S. cents) per kilogram," Yasdi said, adding that the failed harvests were caused by attacks by rats.

Sudin expressed her fears about the farmers' fate since their food stocks had declined.

She said efforts by farmers to change to other crops had also failed because of a lack of rain.

Diyo, 30, Wagiyem, 27, and Sugiyanto, 37, all residents of Wuluhan subdistrict said they had consumed cassava for breakfast, cassava porridge for lunch and tiwul for dinner.

They said they were also facing difficulties earning money to pay their children's tuition fees, Antara reported on Thursday.

Despite receiving rice aid from the local administration, thousands of people in Sekotong subdistrict in West Lombok have also begun eating cassava following the prolonged drought in the province.

The local administration recently provided two kilograms of rice for every family, plus used clothes and instant noodles for poor people in the subdistrict.

Syahri Suwandi, who handed over the aid relief, promised that the local government in the near future would also supply cheap rice to the subdistrict in order to help alleviate the suffering.

He said poor people would be given 10 kilograms of rice every month.

Many children have become malnourished because of the food shortage.

At least 188,000 people in the province were living in abject poverty, Antara said.

More than 500 tons of rice could not be transported to drought-hit Semeulue Island in Aceh province because of bad weather on the island.

As of Tuesday the rice could not be transported to the island after the passenger ship KMP Lily plying the Meulaboh-Senabang route was stranded at another island by the bad weather.

Antara reported recently that at least 62,000 people living on the island were facing a food crisis after harvest failures over the last two years.

Yunita Warti, spokeswoman for the state-owned land and sea transportation company PT ASDP in the West Aceh town of Meulaboh, said her office had asked the company's branch office in Medan, North Sumatra, to send another ship to transport the rice to the island. (rms)