VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN) emphasized that food sovereignty in Indonesia will help people to produce food from local ingredients that can prevent stunting in children.

"We will be able to self-produce and produce local food that is healthy, affordable, and contains balanced nutrition," Head of BKKBN Hasto Wardoyo stated at the Socialization of Stunting Prevention in Jakarta, Tuesday.

Wardoyo also denied the statement regarding healthy food that must be expensive. According to the agency head, healthy food can be measured by the nutritional content in it and the way it is processed.

In Indonesia, local food resources, such as fish, eggs, and Moringa leaves, which contain high protein content, are easily produced or traded and can be easily obtained by the community. There are also various other types of food that are available throughout the region, Wardoyo noted.

In an effort to fulfill the need for balanced nutrition for families at risk of stunting, the use of local resources can be combined with the contributions of other partnerships. Its implementation must be realized as a form of concern for the preparation of quality generations in the future and to form a quality family, he emphasized.

This can also be supported through the application of a nurturing movement that is contained in eight family functions that are implemented in society, such as instilling the value of compassion, sharing with others, and assuming the target family is a shared responsibility.

"I hope, through food sovereignty, we would be able to produce food by ourselves by increasing local food security," Wardoyo stated.

He invited related elements to change their mindset and consume local foods that contain high levels of protein since the resources are available and easy to source in order to ensure balanced nutritional intake on a daily basis.

"The challenge is to reduce stunting and educate about family life, to become a quality family with balanced nutrition. We also aim to become a big, superior, and advanced nation as aspired by President Joko Widodo," he stated.

In supporting the utilization of local food, BKKBN has launched the Foster Fathers and Mothers of Stunting Children (BAAS) Program that has helped to significantly accelerate the reduction in cases of stunting in the country.

One of the activities of the program is providing food assistance, as an effort to fulfill nutritional intake for families at risk of stunting.

"The most important aspect is to fulfill the nutrition intake for pregnant women and babies. It depends on the role of the family assistance team (TPK) in providing assistance to families at risk of stunting. Apart from that, it is also important to remind families at risk of stunting to carry out routine checks and measurements at the community health center (puskesmas)," he remarked. (Antaranews)