Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) has encouraged farmers in East Lombok to produce Functional Analog Rice as an alternative food as well as to improve the economy of the people of East Lombok.
Director of Community Resilience and Economic Development Program (CaRED) of UGM, Ali Awaludin, M.Eng. Ph.D., said that the program was implemented through the UGM CaRED program in collaboration with the New Zealand Foreign Affairs & Trade Aid Program (Massey University, New Zealand), Universitas Mataram (UNRAM), Food Security Agency of West Nusa Tenggara, and regional government of East Lombok.
The theme of the program was “Smallholder Livelihood Improvement through Small Scale Functional Analog Rice Food-Base Processing Enterprise: An Action Research Approach to Smallholder Agribusiness and Food Processing Industrial Development in East Lombok – West Nusa Tenggara Province.” The team was led by Dr. Rumiyati, M.Si, Apt. (Pharmacy UGM) with members Prof. Ir. Sri Widyastuti, M.App.Sc., Ph.D. (UNRAM), Prof. Dr. Agung Endro N., M.Si., Apt. (UGM), Prof. Dr. Yudi Pranoto, M.P. (UGM), Dr. Yekti Asih Purwestri, M.Si. (UGM), and Dr. Ir. Satrijo Saloko, M.P. (UNRAM), and reviewer from Massey University, Dr. Janet Reid. Research and development have started since 2016 with funding lasting until 2019.
“The output of this program is Functional Analog Healthy Rice (BSAF),” he said on Monday (14/10) in a workshop held in Mataram to address improvements of the economy through Functional Analog Rice development.
Functional Analog Rice is alternative rice made from modified cassava flour, corn flour, pigeon pea flour, and seaweed flour. It is made by extrusion technology so it produces uniform grains similar to that of rice.
Ali said that Functional Analog Rice was produced by UD. Kaya Rasa industry in Masbagik area, East Lombok and already has production permit as well as halal certification. It has also passed market research, led by Dr. Sang Kompiang Wirawan, S.T., M.T., from the Directorate of Business and Incubation and the UGM team as well as Ir. Rosmilawati, M.S. and a team from UNRAM.
“Hopefully, the Functional Analog Rice in the future will be accepted by a broader market, not only in West Nusa Tenggara and Yogyakarta, but also across Indonesia,” he said.
Vice-Rector of Universitas Mataram, Agusdin, S.E., M.B.A. DBA., expressed his hopes for the development of the Functional Analog Rice during the workshop opening. He hoped this food diversification would improve the economy of East Lombok communities and become a mainstay commodity product of West Nusa Tenggara.
