The Ministry of Agriculture is intensifying the downstreaming of local food products with high economic value, one of which is the development of various processed cassava products in order to stimulate the economic sector of people in rural areas and at the national level. The Director General of Food Crops at the Ministry of Agriculture, Suwandi, in a written statement received in Jakarta, Sunday, said that the effort to increase the enthusiasm of cassava farmers is to bring downstream. Suwandi explained that the cassava commodity has a special market so that it raises the class of cassava and farmers get extraordinary added value. “All parts of cassava can be utilized, nothing is wasted. Starting from the leaves, stems, fruit can all be used. Local food must be present in our society, reduce imported food. It's a tough job, but it has to be started and I'm sure it will be done because millennial awareness is good now, using branded local food to go up class," said Suwandi. Suwandi emphasized that the development of cultivation to downstream processing of cassava products is the embodiment of the strategy of the Minister of Agriculture Syahrul Yasin Limpo in Method of Action 2 (CB2) related to diversification of production and local food such as corn, sweet potatoes, cassava, taro, sago and others processed in such a way as staple foods. Therefore, he said, the Ministry of Agriculture is committed to encouraging cassava commodities to upgrade their processed products so that they must be able to meet the standards and quality demanded by the market, including in hotels. "The order of the Minister of Agriculture, Syahrul Limpo, is to raise local food with high economic value. This has a direct impact on the welfare of farmers and the national economy. Cassava has processed products and is very promising to enter hotels," explained Suwandi.
Chairman of the Indonesian Cassava Society (MSI) Arifin Lambaga said his party always encourages downstreaming of cassava because the progress of the upstream sector depends on the downstream. Therefore, it is necessary to increase and expand processed cassava products so as to open up opportunities for all cultivation products to be absorbed. "We hope that there will be seeds with a productivity of 30 to 40 tons per hectare. MSI has collaborated with the Directorate of Various Nuts and Bulbs to develop demonstration plots of cassava seedlings, which will later be distributed to the community. We have started in Sukabumi with an area of 10 hectares. We I hope there will be 5 to 6 demonstration plots throughout Indonesia," said Arifin Lambaga.
