Agricom.id, JAKARTA – The government planned the prevalence of stunting as the national priority as minimal as it could within the target 14 percent by 2024. It is revealed that one factor which indicates stunting is the lack of zinc (Zn) consumption in the society namely for the children.

General Director of Food Plantation, Ministry of Agriculture, Suwandi said that the prevention of lack of Zn which makes stunting, could be by supplementation, fortification, and bio-fortification, such as, assembling varieties which have nutrients, namely high Zn according to the level needed. Ministry of agriculture produced the new superior variety of bio-fortification paddy, called Inpari IR Nutri Zinc as one source of food within Zinc in 6 percent higher than the Ciherang paddy.

“It is hoped, Inpari IR Nutri Zinc could solve the lack of Zn in many regions in Indonesia. Inpari IR Nutri Zinc as the bio fortification product could be one component of the national priority to solve the stunting issue," Suwandi said in Jakarta, Tuesday (3/11/2020) as in the official statement to Agricom.id.

Based on descriptive data through the Decision of Minister of Agriculture in 2019, the Zn in the variety is 34,51 particle per million (ppm) while others, such as, Ciherang has 24,06 ppm. Inpari IR Nutri Zinc is durable to the pest within about 115 days to be harvested and the productivity potential could be 6,21 tons per hectare in average.

"The field approach and implementation used agricultural technology 4.0, superior seeds, corporate concept, and integrated business. These are the ways of ministry of agriculture to strengthen the food security nationally,” he said.

Suwandi also mentioned that in 2020, ministry of agriculture planted Inpari IR Nutri Zinc covering 10.000 hectares (ha) in 9 provinces, such as, Riau about 212 ha, Lampung about 1.600 ha, West Java about 2.500 ha, Central Java about 2.378 ha, West Kalimantan about 960 ha, Nusa Tenggara Barat about 1.300 ha, Gorontalo about 400 ha, Maluku about 450 ha, and Papua about 200 ha.

"In 2021 ministry of agriculture would expand the bio-fortification paddy planting covering 50.000 ha and would be more in each year up to 200.000 ha in 2024," he said.

Inpari IR Nutri Zinc, Suwandi continued, is now available in many regions in Indonesia, such as, Aceh, North Sumatera, South Sumatera, Lampung, South Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi, West Kalimantan, Banten, DKI Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, Yogyakarta, East Java, Bali, Nusa Tenggara Barat, and Nusa Tenggara Timur.

"Ministry of agriculture would produce Inpari IR Nutri Zinc seeds to accelerate the dissemination and adoption in each province. The seed production would be the demonstration plot to introduce the variety to other stakeholders in each province too,” he said.

He told that ministry of agriculture needs cooperation from many sides, such as, the seed producers, universities, the milling, and public instances both in the central and regional to accelerate the spread and advantage of the paddy which is full of Zn to solve the stunting issue. It is hoped that Inpari IR Nutri Zinc could be useful to increase the health quality of the people and human resource quality.

“By the better quality of resources, it is hoped, the demography bonus would be optimally useful to realize Indonesia Emas in the future,” he said.

In the previous in many chances, Minister of Agriculture, Syahrul Yasin Limpo took every people to plant and to minimize the stunting cases in the susceptible food regions. There are 17 provinces, 267 districts, 900 sub districts in the category.

“For all these years the people consume rice without knowing the nutrients. Inpari IR Nutri Zinc would one of food source within zinc, 6 percent higher than it in Ciherang. I have to guarantee that the susceptible regions have no stunting case anymore. Innovation and anti-stunting paddy seed development, Inpari IR-Nutri Zinc is one breakthrough,” the Commandant, familiar name of Minister Syahrul, told.

The Commandant also told that ministry of agriculture keeps consolidating the breakthroughs, innovation, and technology to strengthen the food security by increasing the production to make food commodities, namely to solve the stunting so that Indonesia is fully in food sovereignty and could enliven other countries.

“In the future, it is possible to export. The agriculture is the frontier sector in the economy nationally namely in the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.

For information, Zn is the vital nutrient for human. It is the component which has more than 300 enzymes within the functions, such as, healing the wound, keeping the fertility, (processing) protein synthesis, increasing the body immunity. Such functions to man’s health and productivity could be eczema, falling hair, establishing the imperfect reproduction organs, postponing the imperfect mentality development, depression post-birth, anemia, decreasing appetite, and others. (A2)