0 Hotels, restos pledge to use local produce

The Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants Association (PHRI) Bali chapter says that most of its members are committed to using local fruits and vegetables to support local industries. Ida Bagus Purwa Sidemen, PHRI executive director, said the association had collected data from hundreds of its members, most of whom were in Badung regency, and found that over 50 percent had started to use a greater quantity of local fruit and vegetables. 

“Since the limitation on imports of agricultural produce took effect, hotels and restaurants have used produce from local farmers, although they still import some commodities that are not available in Bali,” Sidemen said recently. He added that the association had been working with the Indonesian Chefs Association (ICA) to enhance the use of local produce in the tourism sector, as well as holding discussions with a number of local farmers’ groups. 

Earlier this year, the government issued an Agricultural Ministry Regulation stipulating recommendations on imported horticulture and a Trade Ministry Regulation about the provision of imported horticultural produce. Between January and June this year, the import of some fruit and vegetables has been temporarily banned. The tourist industry is expected to support this attempt to protect local fruit by serving it to their guests. 

By procuring and serving local fruits on their menu, the tourist and hospitality industries are expected to make a great contribution to the development of the island’s agriculture sector. Related to this issue, the Bali provincial administration will draft a bylaw to protect the sale and consumption of local fruit. The planned bylaw is to be in line with the Bali administration’s organic and agriculture program and will require the tourist and hospitality industry to use local fruits on their menu. 

The island has abundant seasonal fruits, including oranges, mangosteen, bananas, snakefruit and durian. Data from the provincial Agriculture Agency shows that Bali’s local fruit harvests amounted to 244.5 million kilograms in 2011, while the consumption of these tropical fruits was only 48.9 million kilograms. I Gusti Ngurah Rai Suryawijaya, chairman of PHRI for Badung regency, said that the association had given some suggestions to the provincial administration related to the issue during a recent meeting at the provincial council. 

“To supply their products to hotels and restaurants, the most important things that local farmers have to do is provide good quality, competitive prices and continuous supply,” he emphasized. He said the hotels and restaurants would be ready to use local produce if those requirements could be fulfilled. 

“To improve local farmers’ capacity, the government should facilitate training for them from experts,” he said, citing an example of a successful farmers’ cooperative in Pelaga, Badung, that had been able to supply asparagus as their flagship product to star-rated hotels after they were given capacity building training. He suggested that a large storage facility managed by a private company or a cooperative should be built in every regency to keep fruit and vegetable produce fresh after the harvesting season. 

Many local farmers have been struggling with oversupply after the harvesting season and have demanded that the government and tourism stakeholders help them market their produce. Tourism practitioner Bagus Sudibya said providing cash assistance managed by a cooperative could be one of the solutions to help local farmers. He said local farmers should be given a bigger portion of the food and beverage industry as one of the main industries that supports the island’s tourism.

source : bali daily