BRIN: Sukun Can Be An Alternative For Rice

Photo Archives - Traders fry breadfruit. With carbohydrates relatively high, breadfruit can be used as an alternative for staple food. (ANTARA/Eko Fajri)

JAKARTA - Head of the Agricultural and Food Research Organization of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) Puji Lestari said the breadfruit could be an alternative food ingredient to replace rice.

"Some publications say that sukun has a variety of nutritional diversity, so it has the potential as an alternative food to help meet the fulfillment of community food nutrition," Puji said as quoted by ANTARA, Wednesday, October 25.

Sukun trees can grow in almost all islands in Indonesia, including Sumatra, Java, Bali, Nusa Tenggara, and Sulawesi. Sukun fruit has also been commonly processed into snacks.

Horticultural researchers and BRIN Marietje Pasireron plantations say that sukun fruit (Artocarpus altilis) can be consumed as a substitute for rice in Indonesia.

The results of chemical analysis of breadfruit flour from 14 local sukuns from Sleman, Gunung Kidul, Banten, Sukabumi, Cilacap, Kediri, Banyuwangi, Madura, Bali, Mataram, Lampung, Bone, Sorong, and Manokwari showed that the carbohydrate content of sukun was quite high.

Suwarns from Gunungkidul have an average carbohydrate content of 70.44 percent, protein 6.59 percent, fat 1.29 percent, fiber 6.55 percent.

Marietje said sukun could be developed as an alternative staple food plant. Sukakun can be planted sustainably with minimal input along with coffee, pepper, or vandalism.

"We can see the population of breadfruit in Indonesia is spreading and quite a lot. We need to develop breadfruit to replace rice as an alternative food to prevent hunger due to disasters caused by El Nino and La Nina. Maybe it could be the government's policy going forward," said Marietje.

According to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the production of breadfruit in Indonesia will reach 165,032 tons by 2022.

Central Java is recorded as the most sukun-producing area (35,188 tons), followed by East Java (29,370 tons), and West Java (23,113 tons).