Director General of Food Crops, Suwandi, said that sweet potato is a local food commodity that has the potential to be developed both in terms of cultivation and downstream, so that it becomes one of the mainstay commodities for export. In 2022, the Directorate General of Food Crops through government assistance stimulants allocates the development of 2,000 hectares (ha) in several locations in Indonesia. "Let's take advantage of local food, local food has high nutritional value. It's just a matter of how we can process it so that it has added value and has been exported to Korea," said Suwandi in Jakarta, Tuesday (8/3/2022). Departing from this, Suwandi encourages farmers to take advantage of KUR (People's Business Credit), partnerships and investors for the development of export-oriented sweet potato cultivation. The pattern of management through farmer corporations must also continue to be developed to improve the national economy through the potential of local food from the countryside. "Mr. Agriculture Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo has policies and programs, one of which is the development of corporate-based local food to produce good quality, high productivity commodities, managed to downstream which produces products with good packaging to obtain added value and ensure the market to export," he explained.
Meanwhile, in the Technical Guidance and Socialization (BTS) of Propaktani episode 360 dated March 8, 2022, he explained that sweet potato is a unique food commodity because it has several varieties with their respective characteristics and advantages. The potential of sweet potato as a raw material for the food industry is also very large, considering the abundant material resources available. Head of the Agriculture, Food and Fisheries Service of Karanganyar Regency, Siti Maesaroch said the Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan) supports the efforts of the Karanganyar Regency government to develop the potential of sweet potatoes. Karanganyar Regency, Central Java Province is one area that has great potential in this field, where there are five sub-districts that have the potential for sweet potato cultivation, namely Tawangmangu, Karangpandan, Matesih, Jenawi, and Ngargoyoso. "The harvested area of sweet potatoes in Karanganyar Regency in 2021 will reach 753 hectares with a production of 30,120 tons. This is inseparable from the Ministry of Agriculture's assistance facilities in the form of Sweet Potato Dem Area in 2013, Sweet Potato Production Facilities (2016), Sweet Potato Processing in 2018, Sweet Potato Post-Harvest Ward in 2020 and 2021 Sweet Potato Area Development," he said.
Wagimin, Coordinator of Agricultural Extension at Tawamangu Sub-district, said that sweet potatoes were able to reap huge profits. This can be seen from the analysis of the farming business of sweet potato cultivation, namely the production cost of around IDR 35 million per ha, which is needed, among others, for weeding, fertilizing and irrigating stages 1 and 2 as well as harvest costs. "Production in 1 hectare reaches 45 tons with a selling price of IDR 2,000 per kilogram so that in 1 ha the turnover obtained reaches IDR 90 million. Thus, the profit or profit obtained in 1 hectare reaches IDR 54.6 million," he explained. The results of sweet potato production in Karanganyar Regency in the form of processed food are mostly marketed in souvenir centers for tourist attractions. There are special varieties such as the Korean variety and Manohara which are processed into sweet potato sticks for export. One of the exporters of processed sweet potatoes in the form of sticks is CV Makmur Abadi Jaya. Ujang from CV Makmur Abadi Jaya said that 100 percent of his products are exported to Korea, which amounts to 1,800 tons per year. The supply of raw materials comes from sweet potato farmers in the area. “Supplies from farmers are smooth and prices are good, the proof is that they regularly enter Korea. The processing business is able to create job opportunities. There are quite a lot of residents here, around 60 people we employ here," said Ujang.
