Jakarta –
A commodity from East Java, precisely from Madiun Regency, has returned to the attention of the central government, as well as internationally. These commodities are called porang plants. In fact, porang was once considered a plant that grows wild in the yard, even in some areas it is considered snake food.
Expansion of Madiun porang area with porang land in 2020 of 5,263 ha. In 2021 will be planted 752 ha and in 2022 will be planted 800 ha.
Like a gem, this porang takes a long time to be recognized for its quality and benefits. In addition, this plant can only produce good tubers at the age of over one year so that the harvest period is quite long.
Why is it called a gem? Because porang plants are now starting to be planted by farmers in a number of areas along with the increasing demand for tuber exports.
Launch data from page birohumas.jatimprov.go.id, the development of porang exports from 2018 to 2020 in East Java through the Surabaya Agricultural Quarantine Center (BBKP) always increases. In 2018, the volume reached 5,516,382 kg with a value of Rp 270,302,720,450. The export destinations are China, Vietnam, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan.
Then in 2019, the volume reached 6,064,947 kg with a value of IDR 297,182,412,310. The destination countries are Thailand, China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Pakistan. In 2020 the volume reached 10,319,458 kg worth IDR 499,082,915,019, with destination countries China, Belgium, Thailand, Myanmar, Japan, Vietnam, India, Taiwan, Singapore, Bulgaria, South Korea, France and the US.
Easy and Cheap
Porang or in Latin is called Amorphopallus muelleri blume is a type of tuber plant that contains glucomannan carbohydrates or sugars in complex form. This porang plant is also known as islands.
Porang is usually processed into rice, shirataki, a mixture of ingredients in cake products, bread, ice cream, sweets, jellies, jams, and thickeners in syrup products. Porang is also often processed as a cosmetic product.
The price of porang in the export market continues to increase. The benefits of porang, especially the tubers, are used as raw materials for making konjac flour or glucomannan flour. The result of processed porang is made into flour, which is then used as the main ingredient for processed shirataki, clear noodles that are widely consumed in Asia Pacific.
In contrast to wheat flour or rice flour, konjac is known to have a lot of fiber. That’s why shirataki made from konjac have a more chewy taste but contain fewer carbohydrates. Shirataki noodles are also often used for ramen noodles in Japan. The popularity of shirataki also continues to increase because it is believed to be a healthy diet and lifestyle menu. Once sold in Indonesia, the price ranges from Rp. 25 thousand and above.
Cultivation of this porang is fairly easy and inexpensive because it does not require much special treatment. Porang trees are easy to grow in various soil conditions, even on critical land. So this requires concrete steps, in order to develop porang tubers in East Java. Moreover, the Porang plant will become a healthy food as a substitute for rice in the future.
The porang harvest is also very promising; every 1 hectare of land can be harvested between 15-20 tons. No one thought that the yield of porang per planting season, namely in the first planting season, could reach Rp 40,000,000 in eight months.
From data released by the Ministry of Agriculture, if used as an agricultural cultivation plant, the advantage of the porang tree is that it can adapt to various types of soil and altitudes between 0 to 700 meters above sea level.
Porang plants are also relatively able to survive in dry soil. The tubers or porang seeds can also be obtained easily, while the plants only require minimal maintenance. So that not only concrete steps, protection for porang commodities must also be carried out. Including attention to porang farmers is also needed.
New Commodity Primadona
Porang is so valuable that President Joko Widodo has instructed the Minister of Agriculture, Syahrul Yasin Limpo, to make porang a new mainstay export commodity in the country.
This instruction was conveyed by the President when he visited the porang processing factory owned by PT Asia Prima Konjac during his working visit to Madiun Regency, August 19. This porang commodity can be exported not only in the form of raw and semi-finished goods, but also in the form of porang rice.
In East Java itself, Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa made efforts to protect porang farmers. The East Java Provincial Government has issued a Decree from the Governor of East Java regarding the ban on the export of porang frogs (seedlings) to the outside of horror. The export ban was imposed because many seeds were sold abroad.
For information, the price of porang frogs is Rp. 200 thousand/kg, while porang’s wet tubers are Rp. 7 thousand/kg. These porang frogs are hunted from many tropical countries for porang cultivation. So Governor Khofifah also asked the Regent of Madiun to maintain that according to the Governor’s Decree it was forbidden to export frogs.
In addition, the East Java Provincial Government will also continue to consolidate the export ban on porang frogs with Customs. In addition, it involves the University of Brawijaya for the development and research of porang commodities.
The potential for gems from Madiun not only makes this district a center for cultivation, but also develops as a center for the porang plant processing industry. So that the porang plants exported from Madiun will be in processed form, including porang shirataki rice which is known to be expensive.
The government also wants to build a mutually beneficial ecosystem; in addition to the benefits of the community, the surrounding environment can also be well maintained. For this reason, the Ministry of Agriculture needs to make a big plan regarding the prospect of porang as a prima donna for new agricultural commodities.
Plus, the current healthy lifestyle, many who consume rice and noodles such as shirataki will be very beneficial for porang farmers and porang processing factories.
I Gede Alfian Septamiarsa, S.Sos, M.I.Kom The First Expert Public Relations Institution of the Administrative Bureau of the Regional Secretariat of East Java Province
Watch the video ‘Want to Cultivate Porang? Read the Tips First:
(mmu/mmu)
– .
