President denies reports of food shortages

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto denied press reports yesterday that a food shortage has forced people in Lampung and Java to eat cassava for their daily meals.

The President described how farmers in some regencies in Java preferred to consume tiwul (foodstuff made of cassava) or mixed it with rice because they believed it would give them extra strength to work in the field.

"It does not mean there is a famine, they have enough food but prefer such a diet," Soeharto said in a teleconference with 50 small-scale tempeh producers, who gathered at the National Tempeh Center in Cibitung, West Java.

Soeharto said some people in other provinces also chose to eat food other than rice as part of their daily diet.

"However, we must improve their food so it is more nutritious," he said.

At least 4,000 citizens of Papanrejo, in Kotabumi, North Lampung had to eat gadung, a type of wild tuber, because they could not afford to buy cassava.

Almost 450 drought-related deaths were recorded recently in Jayawijaya regency, Irian Jaya.

The President was optimistic the nation could maintain its self-sufficiency in food production which was first achieved in 1984.

"We must be grateful because 88 other nations are still struggling to liberate themselves from food shortage problems," he said.

This year's prolonged dry season has exacerbated the affects of forest fires and caused the failure of crops and rice harvests in several provinces.

The teleconference was held in commemoration of the 17th World Food Day and the Second World Rural Women's Day yesterday at Taman Mini Indah in East Jakarta.

In his speech, Soeharto reminded the international community that even today food remains one of the world's major problems, and that hunger and malnutrition still haunt many nations.

He said an estimated 800 million people in the world are suffering from chronic food and nutrition deficiencies.

"The commemoration of World Food Day is to set in momentum the continuous awakening of national and international solidarity to fight hunger, malnutrition and poverty," said the President.

Soeharto praised Indonesian women's role in food production and processing, especially in rural areas. There, he said, women work to provide food for their families and to improve their family's income.

"I would like to express my heartfelt thanks and appreciation to women in rural areas for their important role in food production," Soeharto said.

The President also told people to consume more tempeh because it is cheap and nourishing.

"I think I am smart because I consumed a lot of tempeh in my childhood," Soeharto said laughing.

In anticipation of global competition in the production of tempeh, a highly nutritious traditional Indonesian food, the National Institute of Sciences has planned to set up the Indonesian Tempeh Center.

The center will provide information, education and training about making tempeh and developments in its production process.

The President presented yesterday Good Manufacturing Practices Awards to four companies including Coca-Cola Amatil Indonesia and Aqua Golden Mississippi Indonesia. (prb)