REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BOGOR – Artificial rice, or known as analog rice, made of sorghum, sago, and tubers will be sold in the market soon. Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB) as the innovator of analog rice will sell it first in Depok, West Java.

The analog rice was expected to support government’s food diversification program, the Dean of Agriculture Technology Faculty in IPB, Syam Herodian, said. “The artificial rice can reduced our needs of rice import as it is made from local ingredients,” Herodian said on Monday.

The national rice production in the amount of 63 million tonnes per year, he continued, was good. But, Indonesian consumption for rice reaches almost 139 kilograms per capita per year. “This condition force the government turns to import the product,” he said.

Local government of Depok adopt the policy of One Day No Rice program. To achieve the goal, local government will subsidize the artificial rice up to two months.

IPB also targets the analog rice will be produced massively by the end of this year. IPB cooperated with national machine company to design the special device for producing analog rice, the analyst of analog rice from IPB, Slamet Setijanto, said. With the device, IPB can produce 100 kilograms analog rice per hour.

Ikuti Whatsapp Channel Republika