PORTALJABAR, BANDUNG CITY - Low nutrition is an acute problem in Indonesian society that has not been resolved from year to year. Apart from the problem of stunting, the problem of malnutrition also affects almost the majority of people who are classified as poor. This was said by Faiz Manshur, Chairman of the Odesa Indonesia Foundation.

"There are still more than 20 million people in Indonesia who have malnutrition problems. "This means that of the 28 million poor people, the majority have bad problems in terms of food and we can easily find this among disadvantaged families among low-income farm workers," said Faiz, after the activity of distributing fruit and moringa plant seeds to farmers in Cisanggarung Village. , Cikadut Village, Cimenyan District, Bandung Regency, Sunday (3/12/2023).

According to Faiz, the movement to distribute seeds of fruit food plants such as Jackfruit, Soursop, Breadfruit, Guava, Duren, Matoa, Papaya, Sapodilla and also Moringa is a practical solution to improve nutrition for village people. Because so far, farmers in the North Bandung area have mostly planted short vegetable crops using monoculture. As a result of this wrong agricultural model, many people only get nutrition from local food temporarily. Apart from that, the practice of vegetable monoculture farming also damages the land.

"One of the nutritional problems in rural communities is that farmers do not have food sources that can be obtained and consumed directly. If you only grow vegetables, let alone only harvest twice a year, your daily food needs are clearly insufficient. "If you don't grow your own fruit and livestock, it will also be difficult to get nutrition because farmers have minimal ability to buy nutritious food," explained Faiz.

According to Faiz, by spreading fruit plants, many farmers in Cimenyan have now felt the benefits. Especially for papaya and moringa fruit plants, residents can consume them every time they harvest.
"In the rainy season (December 2023 to March 2024), Odesa Indonesia will distribute 12,000 fruit seeds to farmers in Cimenyan District, including those working on land in the Arcamanik forest," said Faiz.

“Papaya fruit is harvested quickly, it only takes nine months. Moringa is enough for six months. "These two plants are a good source of nutrition for the people," he added.

Since 2016, the Odesa Indonesia Foundation has distributed many fruit seeds and nutritional food plants such as Moringa, Hanjeli, Coffee and Sorghum. The aim of this program is not only to improve nutrition for poor farmers, but also to repair natural damage caused by monoculture farming in Cimenyan District.

Farmers have now benefited a lot from the contribution of Odesa Indonesia, which has been persistent in finding seeds from donors. Oman Alif (61 years old), a farmer who has been trusted by Odesa Indonesia to take care of the distribution of seeds, said that the agricultural advice from Odesa Indonesia has helped thousands of people. (Parno)