The protection and preservation of local food diversity in Mentawai Islands Regency is part of the effort to strengthen the local food self-sufficiency system initiated by YSI. One of the protection and preservation measures is through the implementation of the Forum Group Discussion (FGD) of the Draft Regional Regulation on Sustainable Food Agricultural Land (LP2B). The activity took place in the Hall of the Office of Food Security and Agriculture of the Mentawai Islands Regency and has successfully created a strong collaboration between various stakeholders who play an important role in the protection of local food.
The protection of local food in Mentawai has a crucial background, where the speciality and history of food commodities such as taro, banana, sago, and various other local foods need to be preserved as part of the identity and sustainability of the Mentawai community. This was the introduction and emphasis at the beginning of the FGD so that it was understood by all involved.
In this FGD, SHEEP Indonesia Foundation (YSI) acted as a facilitator to connect each of the stakeholders, including representatives of the Food Security and Agriculture Office, the Legal Section of the Mentawai Islands District Secretary, village government representatives, representatives of the Dignified Community Organisation (OMB) from 10 villages, and Village Facilitators from the Ministry of Villages.
During the FGDs, there was active participation from participants, both men and women, as well as village government and OMB representatives. This reflects their commitment in providing valuable input to the draft Ranperda LP2B. One of the highlights was the participants' enthusiasm in encouraging the Food Security and Agriculture Agency to pay more attention to the local food potential in Mentawai, so that village governments can develop programmes and activities that fully support local food protection efforts. In addition, the FGD ended with a significant mutual agreement. In the agreement, there was a commitment from all parties to formulate a more detailed and specific district-level regulation on local food protection that will be worked on together to create synergy of programmes, especially the issue of local food protection in Mentawai Islands District. This will be guarded by all involved and become an important agenda in the future as a follow-up to the FGD.