Getting to Know Porang Plants, Sweet Potatoes That Are Interested in the Export Market
In recent years, rice or rice substitutes have begun to be in great demand. The reasons also vary, ranging from health issues to the narrowing of rice fields. This makes food ingredients other than rice 'rising' alias starting to be in great demand, one of which is yam porang or in some areas it is also called coblok, iles-iles, and so on.
This type of sweet potato is widely discussed because it has a myriad of benefits and has become a high-value export commodity and is in great demand in developed countries. In fact, the porang plant in Indonesia itself may not be widely known in terms of benefits, processing, and selling power. So, what exactly is this popular porang plant, what are its benefits, how is it cultivated and what are the market opportunities?
The type of sweet potato that has become a leading commodity in East Java and several areas in Kalimantan
The porang plant has the Latin name Amorphophallus Muelleri, still a relative with the corpse flower. The leaves are broad with a pointed tip. The bark is upright without branching and there are white stripes. This plant produces sweet potatoes that are round brown with spots or short fibers.
Porang is almost similar to suweg, only when it is sliced it is yellow and the fibers are fine. Porang plants are mostly found in Java, especially East Java and some areas in Kalimantan as the largest porang-producing areas in Indonesia that penetrate the export market.
The benefits of Porang yam as a healthy food ingredient, ranging from flour, cosmetics, to vehicle components
Like sweet potatoes in general, porang also contains carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals, vitamins, calcium oxalate crystals, alkaloids, and dietary fiber. In addition, porang has higher glucomannan and calcium than similar sweet potatoes. Porang if processed and consumed has various health benefits such as diet, overcoming digestive problems, controlling blood sugar, and lowering cholesterol.
Unfortunately, porang cannot be consumed directly, it must be processed into flour before it becomes a food fit for consumption. Porang flour is usually processed into rice and shirataki noodles, as well as konnyaku which is very popular in Japan and China. Some are processed into cake ingredients, ice cream stabilizers, cosmetics, drugs, glue mixtures, water purifiers, and even one of the components of airplanes.
Porang cultivation comes from sweet potato seeds or seeds, which are planted for 2 years until the harvest period is once a year
Porang yam can grow well in areas with an altitude of 100-600 meters above sea level where the soil is loose and fertile. Porang seeds usually come from seeds or also called frogs, and can also come from tubers that have growing points. Seedlings are planted at a distance of 90 x 90 cm to produce large sweet potatoes.
Porang plants generally grow under up to 65% shade trees, such as teak, sengon, and mahogany. Even some areas make teak forests as agricultural land for porang. In porang cultivation, fertilization, pest control, weeding, and controlled watering are also needed to prevent mold and rot of sweet potatoes. Porang plants can only be harvested after 2 years of planting, after weighing more than 2 kg / sweet potato.
Porang yams are in demand by the export market, ranging from fresh to processed, which are expensive
Actually the porang plant is not something new in Indonesian agriculture. It's just that it has not been long known that this plant produces sweet potatoes which have a myriad of benefits and are of high selling value. The price of porang itself has several grades or qualifications based on its quality. Wet porang is valued at 4-14 thousand per kilo. While dry porang or often called chips for 55-75 thousand. Generally 1 quintal of fresh porang can produce around 12-16 kg of chips, depending on the quality.
Initially, fresh porang was exported to several countries such as Japan, China, Vietnam and Australia. However, currently the government has directed farmers to export semi-finished porang, for example in the form of chips and flour so that the price is higher and can expand the domestic production sector.
Although currently the porang agricultural land is getting wider, but the domestic consumption of porang is still quite small, lo. Apart from meeting export demand, there is still little awareness of the use of porang. Most people consume porang that has been processed into rice and shirataki noodles to replace rice.
Image source from Google.com
