Welding Horticulture Processing and Storage Industry

INDUSTRY co.id - Kudus- The governance of horticulture yields priority attention. Characteristics of fruits and vegetable products that are easily damaged, decay and shrinkage need to be addressed by downstream technology, including handling at harvest, post-harvest, processing, storage, sorting, packaging and more.
"Now has developed post-harvest technology and processing of horticultural products. For the on-going product hilirisasi onion is being developed in the pasta industry in Brebes. In Kudus has developed Controlled Atmosphere Storage (CAS) technology for storage ", said Director General of Horticulture, Suwandi while visiting the agricultural machine tool industry PT Pura Agro Mandiri in Kudus, Sunday (6/5/2018).
Suwandi explained that every harvest is abundant production, so the surplus handling solution must be processed into derivative products, or stored and / or exported.
This downstream horticultural product should be built in rural areas.
"The impact will definitely create added value, absorb local workforce and farmers welfare. This is in line with the policy of Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman, "he explained.
With regard to storage infrastructure, Suwandi said that as an archipelagic country, large-scale storage warehouses are needed in large ports. Food stocks are stored in large warehouses and ready to be distributed in needy areas.
"The many benefits of storage warehouses such as CAS, which is able to keep shrinkage less than 10 percent compared to ordinary storage patterns without CAS about 30 to 40 percent shrinkage," he said.
"It is an important means of keeping or preserving fruit, vegetables, seeds and other products with quality and quality maintained. Suitable for supply stabilization, when harvests are stored in CAS or equivalent and issued when needed, "continued Suwandi.
At the same venue, Agung Subani Vice Plant Manager of PT Pura Agro Mandiri said the cost of storing in the CAS of Rp 1000 per kg per month has taken into account the value of investment. While without CAS it costs much more.
"Some onion farmers and SOEs have also stored their products and seeds in the Holy CAS here. We have a CAS with a capacity of 400 tons, "said Agung.
Agung explained that CAS is different than cold-storage which only contribute to the temperature setting. While the CAS in addition to the role of refrigerator, as well as storage room, equipped humidifies humidifies humidity, O2 and CO2 absorber in order to stay alive but not grow, N2 control, and ethylene control so that the product does not decay.
"CAS can keep fresh produce for up to 3 to 6 months, the quality and freshness is maintained, and the shrinkage is very low, less than 10 percent, he explained. PT Pura also develops processed horticultural products in packaging bottles and sachets, such as cooking spices, processed peppers, and others, "he explained.
For example, continued Agung, chili powder in plastic bottles. Chili powder is processed from chili that is not too fresh or from the harvest that the quality is not too accepted by the market. If sold is still in original or unprocessed form, the price of chili is only about Rp 6,000 per kg.
"But when it becomes chili powder in plastic bottles, the price per kg reaches hundreds of thousands of rupiah. This is really a tremendous added value, "said Agung.
PT GMAL cultivation and shallot cultivator, Zee Agustina who also attended PT Pura said that storage facilities have been using cold-storage with various advantages and disadvantages, as well as CAS technology. Technological developments increasingly rapidly.
"If the entrepreneur is always looking for a choice of infrastructure options that are most practical, efficient, and according to the needs of the scale of his business," he said.
In Kudus, small-scale agricultural equipment and machinery (alsintan) also grows up to 150 types of tools such as corn thresher, flour sifters, soy sievers, cattle feed presses, wind blowers for chicken coops, cultivators, and others.
Hari Martono, Director of PT UKABE Indonesia based in Kudus said it is a small industry actors engaged in alsintan ready to supply the needs of farmers. Soil cultivators, harvesting tools, post harvest, processing tools, available here.
"We have this small industry association spread across 13 districts in Java Island often coordinate in providing services for alsintan needs in every region," he said.