Prof. Dr. Memen Surahman: Seed Self-sufficiency First, then Food Self-Sufficiency Wednesday, June 10, 2015
"If we want self-sufficiency in food, we must begin with self-sufficiency in seeds. It seemed impossible to be self-sufficient in food if no seeds are available". So was stated by Professor of the Faculty of Agriculture, Bogor Agricultural University (Faperta) Prof. Dr. Memen Surahman in the pre-scientific oration press conference at the Baranangsiang Campus of IPB Bogor, Thursday (4/6).
According to him, the many imported seeds indicate that the foreign seed varieties are superior to domestic ones or we do not have the superior seeds. "In relation to the imported seeds, especially of food crops, the imported types are hybrids of rice and corn. Hybrid rice seeds reach 12 thousand tons, and corn hybrids account for 65 thousand tons. The figure is much higher for vegetable crops, including potatoes, onions, spinach, peppers, beans, squash, so many up to 21, also carrots. There is also imported food stuff," he said.
From the supply side, foodstuffs depend on the size of cultivated land. High productivity is related to excellent seed quality. But with the large and uncontrolled number of population, the high production will eventually be insufficient. Self-sufficiency becomes difficult.
"So population control becomes important. According to the data, the current growth rate of Indonesia’s population is 1.49 percent, which is a very rapid population growth. On the other side is our consumption level of rice. Indonesian people eat too much rice, a total of 136 kilograms per capita per year. We must cut it down. Vietnam has been able to reduce up to 76 kilograms per capita per year. We must do so by eating vegetables, side dishes and fruit. We should meet all these by ourselves. I’m sure if we have the commitment, Indonesia can; depending on a serious effort," he added
To deal with the problems and challenges, strategic steps are necessary. One is through the use of excellent seed quality.
Seed is the most important input and must be available prior to the business activities in agriculture. With high quality seeds, crop productivity will increase and make national food production higher as well. Thus, food security will be achieved.
Further, the use of high quality seeds will also improve the quality of agricultural products. In addition it will cause production costs to be cheaper because you do not have to replace seeds, and do not need to spend a lot of pesticides because high quality seed has a high vigor and is more resistant to weather stress.
In his scientific oration, Prof. Memen put forward seven ideas related to the seed issues in Indonesia: 1) seed self-sufficiency in every province in Indonesia, 2) seed self-sufficiency at the farmer level, 3) Improved seed grading system, 4) testing the seeds using molecular markers, 5) Improved supply systems and certification of soybean seed, 6) Subsidized output is better assurance for the success of agriculture, and 7) the health status of the seed as the seed certification standard.
Prof. Memen highlights that the grading system currently adopted seeds now needs to be reviewed. Seed categorization based on generation is not relevant anymore. In the future there are two alternatives that can be done: (1) the seed classification removed, (2) seed classification still used but not based on generation instead on measurable quality standards of seed.
In addition, Prof. Memen also have found superior koro bean seed – white koro or sword beans of 30 cm long with the weight of two grams for one bean. The potential production is 8-10 tons on a research scale; if applied by farmers with an average success of 80%, koro beans can reach 6-7 tons in production. Koro beans or lentils can replace our needs for soybeans. (Mtd)
