Singaraja- Mengesta Village, Penebel District, Tabanan Regency is one of the areas in Bali that produces brown rice. For academics at the Ganesha University of Education (Undiksha), rice is not only good for consumption but also as a natural food coloring. This is glimpsed into the Community Service Program for Regional Superior Product Development Program (P2M-PPPUD).
The program implementation team consists of Dr. Ni Nyoman Parwati, M.Pd., Prof. Dr. I Gusti Putu Suharta, M.Si., and Dr. Anantawikrama Tungga Atmadja, S., E.M.Si., Ak. This training activity was held at the Somya Pertiwi Rural Agriculture Training Center (P4S), Banjar Wongaya Betan, Mangesta Village, Friday (31/7/2020). Head of the Undiksha Research and Community Service Institute (LPPM), Prof. Dr. Gde Astra Wesnawa, M.Sc., in his remarks, hoped that this activity would run effectively and be able to provide benefits to the community, both in terms of product quality and marketing. Apart from that, his party also encourages more and more innovation programs that are born by academics so as to further increase the competitiveness of universities, both at the national and international levels.
Meanwhile, the Team Leader, Ni Nyoman Parwati explained that this training was to provide an understanding to the public about the dangers of using food coloring materials made from chemicals. “If these harmful substances accumulate in the body, they will cause various diseases. Therefore, we invite people to use food coloring from natural ingredients. One of them is derived from Angkak (a fermentation of rice) to produce an orange-to-red color,” she explained.
Delivered further, the PPPUD P2M program has entered its second year, which will run from March to October 2020. Apart from food production, this team also provides education related to marketing and also facilitates proposing trademarks for organic rice which is the flagship product of Mengesta Village. “We want this program to have a bigger impact on the community in managing regional potential, especially brown rice,” she said. (rls/hms)
