RI NEEDS TO DIVERSIFY TRADITIONAL FOODS : MINISTER

Jepara, C Java, July 24 (ANTARA) - The Indonesian people need to carry out food intensification and diversification, particularly the development of non-rice based food technology, Research and Technology Minister Kusmayanto Kadiman said.

"A research is being carried out in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara on the way how to cook instantly a traditional food called 'bose' porridge which usually takes four to eight hours to cook," the minister said here on Thursday.

He said that the research was carried out on the cooking of 'bose' porridge of maize, peanut, green pea and red pea which usually took four to eight hours to cook.

Therefore, he said, the government was trying to apply a new technology for the cooking of the local 'bose' porridge so that it could be cooked in an instant way.

"Next time, it would be enough to open its plastic bag and soak it with hot water and waited for several minutes before the porridge is well done," he said.

The minister said that the use of such a technology was a form the manifestation of food intensification and diversification. "But how to sell the products is an other problem that arises after the technology is already made available," the minister said.

He said that the efforts to put on market the product would need a relatively long time while research and development about would take a long time to accomplish.

"The local government is expected to take part in the marketing of the traditional 'bose' product like the traditional 'batik' clothes where civil servants are required to wear them as their uniform on certain days," the minister said.

The minister said that his ministry was resolved to make its efforts so that tradition and technology would have contribution to the economic development.

The minister said that the government had also conducted a research on the diversification of other kinds of food such as breadfruit and cassava powder with a taste like that of wheat.