Singaraja-The presence of the Covid-19 pandemic has triggered changes, one of which is in the economic aspect. The sector that was significantly affected was the trading sector for small and medium industrial products. The decline in sales value is inevitable. One of these realities is the robusta ground coffee business in Belatungan Village, Pupuan District, Tabanan Regency.
The decline in sales value was also due to promotions that were not maximized, which so far have only been carried out online and offline through exhibitions organized by the local government. This issue has received attention from academics at the Ganesha University of Education. Through Community Service in the Partner Village Development Program (PPDM) scheme, assistance was provided to BUMDES in Belatungan Village by a team consisting of I Nyoman Sukarta, S.Pd., M.Sc., Dr. I Dewa Ketut Sastrawidana, M.Si from Undiksha and Made Madiarsa, M.MA., from Panji Sakti University. This program runs from April to October 2021, with stages consisting of communicating with the village government, preparing activity facilities, and preparing training materials. Specifically since August, it has entered into core activities in the form of education on business management and product packaging, training/assistance on packaging making, making promotional media online, IT-based business financial accounting, and handover of packaging equipment assistance and product promotion.
PPDM Team Leader, I Nyoman Sukarta, explained that creativity and innovation are very necessary in order to expand marketing reach and increase product selling value, especially in the midst of an era of new normal as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The utilization of information technology is considered to be one of the right solutions. “From that, the assistance we provide is more aimed at modernizing the BUMDES business through improving business governance, improving the quality of packaging, and promoting online,” he explained, Wednesday (13/10/2021).
Delivered further, this PPDM is a stimulus. Therefore, there needs to be ongoing support from the community, especially the younger generation. “We hope that through this program, the public will be more aggressive in promoting their products and be more innovative so that Robusta coffee can continue to compete in the market,” he added. In order to accelerate the realization of IT-based modern village businesses, the Undiksha PPDM implementation team provided assistance with 1 unit of sealer machine to make more elegant packaging designs and a laptop as a means of promotion online.
Belatungan village headman I Dewa Nyoman Widi Sucipta said that BUMDes had made promotional efforts through their business accounts. It is hoped that the PPDM Undiksha program will provide more fresh air to increase the selling value of Robusta coffee, which is one of the leading commodities in Belatungan Village. “We thank Undiksha for the help and attention,” he concluded.
To note, this PPDM program has entered its 3rd year. In 2019, the team provided guidance for compost production to support coffee productivity. Meanwhile, in 2020, there will be innovations to diversify coffee flavors. These programs are fully in the context of improving the quality of village potential which leads to improving the welfare of the community, especially farmers. (rls/hms)
