The Jakarta Post, October 17, 2006
Maluku grows into sago farming center
M. Azis Tunny, The Jakarta Post, Ambon
With 31,360 hectares of sago palm plantations, Maluku has become one of the main
centers of sago cultivation in the world. However, only about 6,000 of these hectares
are properly managed and provincial authorities are eager to introduce new programs
that will increase production.
In cooperation with the Department of Agriculture at Pattimura University in Ambon,
the provincial administration is working on a model program to transform 30 hectares
of land around Tawiri village in Teluk Ambon Baguala district into a sago development
center.
The goal is to increase production so sago can increasingly serve as an alternative to
rice in the country, particularly with the rise in the number of crop failures in rice
production centers around Indonesia. Authorities also want to maintain sago's status
as the main staple food of Maluku.
"Of the 31,360 hectares of sago plantations in Maluku, only 6,000 hectares of them
are managed properly, so we have to face this challenge," said Maluku Vice Governor
M.A. Latuconsina during a recent event in Tawiri village to plant sago seedlings.
Latuconsina said the sago cultivation program would become part of the province's
efforts to promote food self-reliance and the conservation of the Maluku islands'
ecosystem.
Ambon Mayor Markus Jopie Papilaja, speaking at the same event, said the model
program would be developed as a training center for the sago flour industry, to help it
produce different commodities with high economic value. He expects the program will
eventually be enlarged to other parts of the province.
"Processing sago traditionally has not had much economic value for people. But if
sago flour is processed or developed through planned research, it could become a
resource for various economic commodities that would be more beneficial for the
community. It could become a new source of livelihood for farmers growing sago," the
mayor said.
He hoped the provincial administration and Pattimura University would transform the
area around Tawiri village into a sago industrial zone, with sago cultivation and the
processing of sago into various kinds of foods and products.
Maluku Sago Research Committee secretary J.E. Louhenapessy said Maluku had in
the past benefited little from sago cultivation.
"Through this program, hopefully farmers will be able to increase their earnings and
optimize the potential of the sago palm," said Louhenapessy, who is also head of the
sago research team from Pattimura University.
He said that through proper cultivation, his team hoped to improve the quality of the
sago flour, as demanded by the international market, improve the nutritional value of
the sago and use its by-products to produce animal feed.
"Java now faces rice harvest failures in the dry as well as the wet season due to the
heat and floods. The environmental conditions there are too severe to develop rice
crops. The available rice fields must be maintained, but cannot be extended so as not
to lead to environmental damage. It's different with sago, which has an economic
function and can also serve as a buffer to prevent erosion and even stabilize the
climate," Louhenapessy said.
However, he said sago was no longer a staple food for people in Maluku's urban
areas, despite being the main food in Maluku until the 1960s. A shift in dietary
patterns occurred when the government made rice the main staple food in the 1970s.
"To be able to return to eating sago, efforts must be made to improve its nutritional
value and quality of taste in food, as well as packaging," asserted Louhenapessy.
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