Food Diversification Constraints

Food Diversification Constraints

Despite diversification efforts have been initiated since the decade of the '60s, but until now still not running as expected. Dependence on rice is still high among the public and the rising level of consumption is significantly make an effort to diversify food consumption has not shown success, even misguided.

The diet of people in fact have varied, although the level is still not as expected, especially in food quality and quantity standards. In this case, the diversification of the diet is strongly influenced by the level of income, education and knowledge, as well as the availability and affordability. Besides, there are also cross-cultural influences are significant, especially due to globalization. Thus the level of food diversity will differ according to community groups. A diet that is supposedly more diverse due to increased revenue and as a result communication between food producers and consumers, and are not intended to encourage food diversity of society but to promote the product.

Factors that led to the diversification of food consumption is difficult to accomplish:

a. The rice is more nutritious and easily processed
Intrinsically, rice does have many advantages compared to maize and cassava. In addition to the energy and protein content of rice is higher than maize and cassava, rice also has a better flavor although the potluck side dishes, in addition also how to process much easier and more practical, and does not require a long time.

b. The concept of eating
There are still many people who have the concept of eating "feel not eat if you do not eat rice", despite consuming a variety of foods including rice cakes, rice cake. The pattern of these communities leading to increased demand for rice and diversification of food consumption.

c. Rice as food commodities provided by
Robust paradigm of people who think of rice as a commodity superior or prestigious, so people make rice as a staple food that has a higher social status.

d. Availability rice is abundant and cheap rice price
In Indonesia, rice has been used as a political and strategic commodity, so can food policy on rice. Government policy in the successful diversification of food consumption seem half-hearted because the government has set a variety of policies related to the rice industry from upstream to downstream, thus increasing the growth of rice production and rice can be found everywhere with ease.

e. Household income is still low
Households with higher incomes will seek to meet the quality of their demands, so that rice consumption is declining and will switch on expensive food. While in households with lower incomes, increased revenues actually increase the consumption of rice and other basic commodities such as reducing maize and cassava.

f. Non-rice food processing technology and the promotion is still limited
With a touch of processing technology is expected to produce a higher quality food, attractive, and affordable favored by the public. At this time, the processing of non-rice food is still limited and the technology used is simple (traditional) so that the resulting product is still considered as interior goods.

g. Overlapping policies
Food policy inconsistently defined and synchronized between one program to another. Food diversification program has been established a long time ago, but the government set the price of cheap rice that encourages people to consume rice.

h. Policy wheat imports, quite a lot of kinds of product development and the promotion
The existence of an intensive campaign through various media such as electronic media, product development is extended with varying prices and easy to obtain, helped encourage increased participation in the form of consumption of whole grain products, especially noodles and bread as di indication of improvement the welfare of people.