Create Healthy Lifestyle During Pandemic Through Urban Gardening
The covid-19 pandemic not only ravaged the world health and economic order but also lead to world food crisis. Indonesia is expected to face two other problems such as equal-balance inequality by import activities and restrictions on supply from export countries.
The whole world are working hard against the global attack of SARS-Cov-2 virus for 10 months that has also infected more than 500 thousand people in Indonesia. To break the chain of virus dispersal, half of the whole countries has set off a state of lockdown and massive social restraints.
The policy then raises an even more pressing issue of the food crisis. Quarantine or restriction resulted in a loss of food distribution routes, partial stockpiling of foodstuffs, and prices of foodstuffs skyrocketed.
That condition is worsened by the export restrictions of food-producing countries. Nowadays countries like Vietnam and India choose to secure domestic food reserves, whereas as much as 30 percent of the Indonesia's import rice commodity is supplied by Vietnam (2018).
The majority of Indonesian people do rely on rice as a staple food. The government has diversified food because Indonesia has other variant of carbohydrates such as corn, cassava, sago and potatoes.
Under normal circumstances, Indonesia could rely on foreign imports. But in today's situation exporters are facing the same pandemic. They certainly prioritize the affairs of their people's needs rather than the rest of the country's life.
"Now is the right time for governments to organize their food systems, encouraging people to take advantage of community gardens and diversify their food."
Time for Indonesia to Start Gardening
It's not a pack of clothes or a row of private car parks that fill the volume of Mrs. Ariansyah's yard, but a variety of maygas, spinach, chili, tomato and eggplant. Not only in front and back yards of her houses, the rooftop area is also an isolated corner of some low-land crops.
Mrs. Ariansyah is one of the founders of Indonesia's gardening, an urban community in Indonesia. For almost a decade, the community campaigned for a limited and neglected gardening movement to be turned into a food garden. It is from gardening that its members make a self-reliant consumption of vegetables.
"Covid-19 makes it difficult for us to travel, even for foodstuffs. But we are ready and have food independence," said Mrs. Ariansyah Sunday, (22/11/2020).
If you don't have enough balconies or courtyards, then the plant can be placed on a medium pot with a verticultures system or hydroponics. Choose a plant type according to geographic conditions. Plant that is mild and relatively quick to harvest. Simply provide the plant with fertilizer, water it twice a day, and expose it to the sunlight for at least six hours a day.
"Gardening for personal consumption can save vegetable shopping and transportation cost 50 to 60 percent," Mrs. Ariansyah reffered based on her gardening experience.
However, if it is too difficult, growing vegetables in the pot or hydroponics is close enough to meet family daily needs. In order to provide and vary the need that Mrs. Ariansyah recommends implanting the seed using the rotation system.
