Local Food Becomes the Target of Communities in Papua during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Local Food Becomes the Target of Communities in Papua during the Covid-19 Pandemic

The availability of local Papuan food during the corona virus pandemic (COVID-19) has become a much sought after need for indigenous Papuans in an effort to preserve the cultural life of indigenous peoples in Eastern Indonesia.

Various local foods owned by Papua which have a rich nutritional content such as sago, sweet potato / petatas, taro, pokem (a type of wheat) as well as various types of vegetables are daily staples that are most relied upon by indigenous Papuans during the COVID pandemic. 19

The Agriculture and Resilience Office of the Papua Province during the COVID-19 pandemic has been intensively buying various local food products from indigenous Papuans to be distributed again to communities affected by the corona virus in various villages and districts.

The program for distributing basic food assistance to people affected by COVID-19 is distributed by the Papua Provincial Government in various villages and districts and has provided local food as compulsory food.

Papua Deputy Governor Klemen Tinal recommends that indigenous Papuans in various villages and districts should start growing local foods such as taro, sago and sweet potato / petatas to various types of vegetables.

During the current COVID-19 pandemic prevention, according to Deputy Governor Klemen Tinal, the program of growing local food of indigenous Papuans was strongly supported by the local government because it was able to produce food needs for the Papuan population.

Deputy Governor Klemen acknowledged that Papua's very rich and vast nature must be utilized by indigenous Papuans as a place to produce food needs for local needs of indigenous Papuans.

"By growing local food, the Papuan people can produce various types of family food needs. This can indirectly reduce the dependency of rice staples," said Deputy Governor Klemen Tinal.

He hopes that the Papuan people in various villages and districts will start promoting the use of the home environment by planting. Through the use of the yard by planting, according to Klemen Tinal, it is hoped that in the future the families of indigenous Papuans can produce a variety of local foods that are useful for meeting the needs of every native Papuan household.

"The Papua Provincial Government through the relevant agencies and the PKK village mobilization team to encourage and provide assistance to the families of indigenous Papuans who are carrying out activities to plant a yard," he said.

He expects the village head or traditional leaders in each village, is expected to be able to support the government and encourage every native Papuan household to do planting activities in the home yard.

This is very important, because it can directly encourage the spirit of citizens to manage the environment with economic value. "This fertile and vast land of Papua must be able to be processed to provide benefits for indigenous Papuans, so this is a challenge that we must realize together," he said.