Indonesia Must Find Soybean Alternatives for Tempeh: Agro Expert

TheIndonesia.id - An academic said Indonesia must start finding alternatives to soybean as main ingredient of tempeh since the commodity’s price continues to surge in the country.

Agrotechnology expert from Sebelas Maret University Mercy Bientri Yunindanova explained that sourcing for soybean substitutes might be inevitable as the current soybean farming is still done relatively poorly for Indonesia to fulfill domestic demand.

“We have to find alternatives [because] cultivation cannot 100 percent fulfill domestic soybean demand. [Indonesia] needs a more integrated, uniformed, and well-managed farming system,” Yunindanova said on Tuesday, March 1, as reported by Antara.

Food diversification, therefore, is a solution to find other sources of protein, and one of the strategies is by using alternative beans as tempeh’s main ingredient. And Indonesia’s rich biodiversity will provide the country with an abundance of choices.

The lecturer also explained that research into the use of beans – other than soybeans – to make protein-rich foods such as tempeh has been carried out. And the innovation should be introduced to the public to further accelerate the diversification.

“Its introduction to the public hasn’t been massive, and it must be done gradually to change the mindset that tofu and tempeh can only be soybean-based. Other foods can also provide protein, and food diversification is definitely a better option,” she explained.

Furthermore, Yunindanova added that four factors contribute to the increasing global demand for soybeans: the production of biodiesel, the use of soybeans for animal feed, high soybean consumption in certain countries like China and the United States, and the growing trend of plant-based meat.

Meanwhile, the practice of soybean farming must change if Indonesia wants to improve the quality and quantity of its production because the current way is considered insufficient and unaccommodating to make local soybeans competitive in the global market.

“The majority of farmers in Indonesia still do it individually, and [their work] isn’t managed under one system to ensure the harvest is in similar quality,” she concluded.

The current production in Java is at 1.6 tons per hectare, and the figure is far below leading producers Brazil and the US which can produce up to 3.5 tons per hectare.