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A team of lecturers and students from Politeknik Negeri Jember (Polije) held a community service program for the “Margi Mulyo” mango farmer group in Wuluhan, Jember. This program is part of the Community-Based Empowerment (PBM) scheme funded by the Directorate General of Vocational Education, Ministry of Education and Culture in 2024. This activity aims to improve the quality of local mangoes, develop various processed mango products, and help increase farmers’ income.
The Polije lecturer team involved consisted of Huda Oktafa, S.TP., M.P., Dian Galuh Pratita, S.P., M.Sc., and Hendra Yufit Riskiawan, S.Kom., M.Cs., as well as two students, Wildan Sugiono and Putri Nabilah Huwaidah.
According to Huda Oktafa, Head of the Service Team, currently most mango farmers in Wuluhan sell their crops directly to collectors at low prices. Moreover, when the harvest season arrives, the price of mangoes can fall even further.
“Therefore, a solution is needed so that farmers can produce high-quality mangoes, create alternative processed products to overcome excess production, and capture wider market opportunities,” he explained.
In this program, farmers are trained from post-harvest fruit handling to techniques for diversifying processed mango products. One of the methods taught is the application of Good Handling Practice (GHP) in handling fresh fruit, where farmers are trained on how to sort, wash, and use Hot Water Treatment (HWT) technology. HWT is a heat treatment technique that is useful for inhibiting biochemical activities in mango fruit, eradicating pests, and maintaining fruit freshness for longer. In addition to providing training, the service team also provided semi-automatic HWT tools that can be utilized by farmer groups to improve the quality of their crops.
In addition to improving fruit quality, this program also encourages farmers to process mangoes into various high-value products. Farmers are trained to make products such as mango jam (in the form of spreads and slabs), mango powder, Whey-Mango drink, and mango steamed sponge cake. These products are expected to become souvenirs from Wuluhan, which is close to popular tourist destinations such as Tanjung Papuma, Watu Ulo Beach, and Teluk Love.
“Mango preparations are rarely found in the market. With this training, we hope farmers can take advantage of new business opportunities and produce processed products that have added value. Moreover, this area is close to tourism, so processed mango products can be used as souvenirs,” said Huda.
To increase marketing reach, the service team also provided training on promotion strategies and online sales. Farmers were taught how to package products attractively, as well as how to market products through e-commerce platforms such as Shopee and Tokopedia. The use of e-commerce is expected to help farmers expand their market, not only in Jember, but also outside the region.
“This training is very useful for us, especially for farmers who want to develop businesses in the culinary sector. We gained a lot of new knowledge, from post-harvest handling to how to process mangoes into valuable products. Hopefully, this can increase our income and welfare. We also hope that Polije will continue to assist us in applying the results of the training in the field,” said Mariyono, Chairman of the ‘Margi Mulyo’ Farmer Group.
This community service program is expected to revive the potential of the mango industry in Wuluhan District and improve the welfare of farmers through product innovation and market expansion. (rda)