BRIN: Corn and sorghum can become alternative foods in the context of climate change
According to the National Research and Innovation Agency (STRAND), TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Sorghum and corn can serve as viable alternative staple foods to cope with and adapt to rising temperatures due to climate change. caused by climate change.
BRIN Food Crops Research Center Director Yudhistira Nugraha said on Friday (October 20, 2023) that C4 cereal crops are able to withstand more extreme temperatures and conserve more water. “Commonly known crops such as sorghum and corn fall into this category,” he said.
He emphasized that switching to these products can be an adaptation option to climate change but must be accompanied by changes in eating habits, which can be encouraged from a young age. In addition to sorghum and corn, he adds, there are a number of other lesser-known grains that can also replace rice, such as adlay millet (Coix lacrimo-jobi L.) and foxtail millet (Setaria). italica).
Nugraha also highlighted other adaptation efforts that could be made, especially preparing agricultural technology to adapt to temperature changes. This goal can be achieved by growing varieties that are resistant to extreme temperatures, using less water, and implementing mitigation measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the agricultural sector, such as irrigation.
Regular and balanced fertilization. The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) predicts that Indonesia’s average temperature will increase by 4 degrees Celsius by 2100.
The National Food Authority (Bapanas) had earlier sought to increase coordination to develop integrated sorghum agricultural enterprises as part of efforts to maintain food stability in the face of the El Niño threat . The agency has signed agreements with several agricultural companies to develop sorghum agricultural business technology.
Bapanas head Arief Prasetyo Adi said on Tuesday that his agency has been consistenly promoting sorghum as both food and feed source. At present, Bapanas is working on initiatives to help people accept and become accustomed to consuming sorghum. “If sorghum is able to become a food source that is consistently consumed, then the level of production volume and supply must be maintained,” he said.