Starfruit (malangkota.go.id) – The Malang City Food Security and Agriculture Service (Dispangtan) continues to strive to realize a sovereign and independent city in meeting food needs. In 2022, the urban farming sector was successfully developed in the Malang City area down to the RT/RW level.
Head of the Malang City Agriculture and Food Security Agency, Slamet Husnan Hariyadi, SP, said that with limited land in Malang City, a strategy is needed to meet food needs. "In 2023, urban farming will be strengthened again so that the Agriculture and Food Security Agency's ideals of being able to build Malang City towards food sovereignty can become a reality," said Slamet, Tuesday (3/1/2022).
Slamet said, in the future Dispangtan will be more active in going into the field to provide education and understanding related to food security with urban farming. Urban farming is not only done by planting plants that are often consumed, but can also be combined with cultivating various types of livestock such as fish, chickens, and others.
Food diversification (an effort to encourage people to vary the staple foods they consume so that they do not focus on just one type) will also be encouraged by the Malang City Food and Agriculture Service.
"We already have a model for developing sweet potato, cassava, bentoel, and honey gourd plants in limited land at the Dispangtan office. We will pass it on to the community," said Slamet.
Not only that, he said that Dispangtan will also hold various competitions by collaborating with TP PKK Malang City to campaign for the movement to plant, process and develop businesses from agricultural products. The activities include commemorating the anniversary of Malang City and World Food Day which are currently being prepared.
It is hoped that these various breakthroughs can be a solution considering the increasingly limited agricultural land for rice production in Malang City, which currently only has approximately 800 hectares left and is only capable of producing approximately 15.852 tons of rice/year.
"That is why it is very important to provide education to the public to increase carbohydrate consumption from non-rice ingredients. Education to implement a diverse, balanced and safe diet is also continuously encouraged," explained Slamet.
Slamet said, amidst predictions of economic recession and food inflation, people who are independent in terms of food security will survive. The hope is that in all conditions, the people of Malang City can still have their nutritional needs met, and their health can be maintained well by utilizing every potential they have. (cah/yon)
