HMD Agriculture, Faculty of Animal and Agricultural Sciences, Diponegoro University, which was supervised by Agus Subhan Prasetyo, S.P., M.Si successfully held FGD activities and Strengthening Capacity Program of Student Organization (PPK) in Wates Village, last week. Together with the Wates Village community, the Undip team discussed the solution to the problems that existed in the Wates Village. From the results of the FGD, there were problems, namely the abundance of crystal guava stock that was not balanced with proper post-harvest handling, so that there were many rotten crystal guava fruit. In addition, on agricultural land there are many fly pests that damage commodity yields. These problems were agreed with the community to be resolved through the use of ozone technology to handle post-harvest yields and the application of organic farming systems to reduce damage to commodity yields. The FGD activity was held to coincide with the inauguration of the Pendopo Agung which was attended by Drs. Puput Widiyatmoko M.M. as Secretary of the Ngaliyan District, Head of RT 5, Chair of RW 2, Sumber Raharjo Farmer’s Group, Rejo Tani Farmer’s Group, Fisheries and Orange Gardens Farmers Group RW 3, Rukun Makmur Women’s Farmer Group, and local residents. It is hoped that the newly inaugurated Pendopo Agung can be useful for the residents of Wates Village and become a place for all activities to be carried out.
The FGD activity was not only attended by the PPK HMD Agriculture team and their supervisors, but also attended by drh. Siti Susanti, M.Sc., PhD. and Professor of the Faculty of Science and Mathematics (FSM) Diponegoro University, and Prof. Dr. Muhammad Nur, DEA, Undip lecturer who is the initiator of ozone technology. Prof. Dr. Muhammad Nur, DEA then provided input to residents regarding ozone technology which would be applied to the flagship commodity of Wates Village, namely crystal guava. He explained the working mechanism of ozone, how ozone can increase the shelf life of crystal guava, and the benefits of using ozone in post-harvest handling. “What makes commodities rot quickly? Yes, it is because of the microbes that stick to the commodity. Therefore, ozone technology works by killing microbes, so commodities can have a longer shelf life and can last up to 5 months. Ozone technology is also able to produce commodities that are more hygienic because ozone can break down pesticides.” The residents and farmer groups in Wates Sub-District accept openly and enthusiastically to carry out the PPK program with HMD Agriculture.
After conducting a FGD with the residents of Wates Village, starting from July 7-18, 2022, the PPK Ormawa HMD Agriculture Team visited to conduct socialization in Wates Village, at the house of the Head of RW 2, and the house of the Head of the Farmer Group. They explained the plan for a series of activities that will be carried out from July 2022 to the end of November 2022 based on the results of joint discussions on July 6, 2022. Undip team and the community also exchanged opinions and views on the planned activities with the Village Head, Head of RW 2, and the Head of the Farmers Group regarding the suitability of the program, the readiness of the community as a target participant, as well as the interest of the local government and representatives of the community in carrying out the planned activities by the 2022 HMD Agriculture. It is hoped that the participation of the government and local residents will be able to help realize the programs that have been planned together. Hopefully this community service and empowerment program can have a positive impact on local residents, so that they are able to increase the crystal guava farming business belonging to the residents of Wates Village.
Photo: Socialization to the Village Head regarding Plan of Activities to be carried out with the residents of Wates Village
