Yogyakarta Intensifies Non-rice Food Diversification Program

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Yogyakarta City Agriculture and Food Office is intensifying a non-rice food diversification program to allow the public to depend not only on rice but also on other easily obtainable staple foods as well.

"To increase the public's awareness and knowledge of other carbohydrate sources, we encourage a family welfare movement team in each area to innovate new menus using non-rice materials," acting chief of The Yogyakarta City Agriculture and Food Office Sugeng Darmanto said in Yogyakarta on Monday.

The new menus were put to a contest and the winner of the contest would later take part in a similar contest at a provincial level, he said.

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In the food diversification contest held at the Yogyakarta City Hall on Monday, all participants were required to prepare complete menus for breakfast, lunch and dinner using healthy and nutritious materials, he said.

The winner of the contest was the family welfare movement team of Gedongtengen sub-district both at municipal and provincial levels. The winner will later take part in a national contest.

"We prepared all materials needed in the contest. Surely, the food menus displayed are non-rice food creations," he said.

He said most of Yogyakarta residents still rely on rice as a main source of carbohydrate and now is the time to switch to non-rice foods such as corn, potato and tubers that can easily be obtained.

"In addition to increasing food security, the use of non-rice foods is also aimed at increasing the health degree of the residents now that the number of people suffering from degenerative diseases is quite high in the past few years. One of the causes of the diseases is imbalanced consumption pattern," he said.

ANTARA