Sago As A Prospective Staple Food

Sago As A  Prospective 
Staple Food

In the Eastern Indonesia sago plant sago ( Metroxylon sagu) is still quite a lot. The local people harvest and consume sago as a staple food. However, should be taken into account that the plant quite slow growing plant. So that should be considered when these plants will be exploited and exported or marketed in another are. Then the replanting efforts should be intensive, too. If the population of the Central and Eastern part of Indonesia was many as Western Indonesia, it is estimated that sago tree is up, due to the slow growth while the harvest is done by cutting the main stem. As is the case with palm tree (Arenga piñata) on the island of Java, are now dwindling in number as a result continues to be harvested, while it is very rare person who willingly plant the palm.

If sago is considered as prospective staple food, it is therefore necessary to regulate the exploitation of sago as wise as possible. Nonetheless sago are food alternatives that are more plentiful in Eastern Indonesia Sago is one type of carbohydrate-producing plants, which can be processed into various food products such as vermicelli, empek-empek, or ramen noodles are a Japanese food. Sago produced from plants that are divided into two types, namely wild sago and sago cultivation thrives in Papua New Guinea, with a land area of 1 million ha to grow wild sago and sago cultivation for  20000 ha. In Indonesia, precisely Papua Island, with an area measuring up to 1.25 million ha for wild sago and sago 148000 ha for aquaculture. In addition to the two countries, sago is also cultivated in some countries of Southeast Asia, namely Malaysia with a land area of 45000 ha, Thailand with a land area of 3000 ha, and Filifina with a land area of 3000 ha and in other countries with a total land area of 5000 ha. Based on these data, it can certainly be a source of sago Indonesian world.

Sago flour is a food that is commonly consumed by the people of Indonesia. In every 100 g of flour contains 209 kilocalories of energy, 0.3 grams protein, 51.6 grams carbohydrates, 0.2 grams fat, 27 milligrams calcium, 13 milligrams phosphorus, and 0.6 milligrams of iron. In addition, in the Sago flour is also contained as much as 0 IU of vitamin A, vitamin B1 and 0.01 milligrams of vitamin C 0 milligrams. The results obtained from conducting research on Sago Flour 100 grams, the amount that can be eaten as much as 100%
In addition as an alternative carbohydrate source, sago has many other potential. One of the main potential seen from an economic perspective, the world price of corn starch is stable, does not require fertilizers or pesticides, the price of flour was not correlated with the price of crude oil or vegetable oil, corn starch least evaporation, and sago industry is a kind of zero waste industry because all part of this plant has uses such as flour which serves as food and fuel, waste fiber that serves as animal feed and biogas, and leaves that can serve as a straw.

Other potentials are, sago is a unique plant because this plant can be fertile without the help of fertilizers kimi, so that sago can be regarded as an organic source of carbohydrate. Some processed foods are made from sago rice noodles, ramen noodles are a Japanese food, and Pempek.

Based on its potential and availability in Indonesia, Indonesia should be one of the producers of carbohydrates to the world. However, until now, the country is the biggest supplier of carbohydrate China, Taiwan, and Australia. Various technical problems, such as lack of facilities and infrastructure that make processing sago sago forests only be processed to meet the household needs of citizens around the forest sago, sago forest lies in the interior of Indonesian difficult to transport the sago forest, as well as cultural differences in the area so often be a cause of misunderstanding between locals and migrants, making sago processing is confined to the traditional processing and difficult to develop the industry.


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