Sweet potatoes for Papuans

Sweet potatoes for Papuans

From Kompas

The delivery of sweet potatoes and cassava as a short-term solution to the hunger now prevailing in Yahukimo, Papua, is most appropriate. The tubers are one of the staples of Papuans, while in Java and other regions sweet potatoes are abundantly available.

By the end of the New Order period (1998), Papua's food problem was overcome by sending tiwul (cassava-based food) and cassava flour, which received a cool response. The Papuans would have been very pleased if the cassava had been provided in its natural form.

Cassava has been planted in Papua since the Japanese occupation, when Japanese troops tried to maintain their food supplies during World War II. In the long run, therefore, the local agriculture office is expected to give guidance to farmers on proper tuber planting and anticipation of crop failure.

Besides, the same office is expected to take care of sago as the major staple of most Papuans. So far, sago plants have been left growing in the wild in marshy areas and along river banks. Without proper cultivation and rejuvenation, they may eventually vanish with continual felling.

It takes only a week from sago harvesting to its processing into flour for a month's worth of consumption, which is more practical than paddy processing into rice. Found in vast areas, sago is also easier to grow than paddy.

The increasing rice consumption among Papuan communities results from the influence of settlers. But tubers and sago continue to exist as main staples. So, there is fear that sending of tons of rice to Yahukimo will create new problems.

H. ASJARI Depok, West Java