Increase Business Competitiveness, Ministry Of Industry Encourages Diversification Of South Kalimantan IKM Chili Products

The government through the Ministry of Industry (Kemenperin) is said to be trying to develop Small and Medium Industry (IKM) centers in order to increase the ability and increase the productivity of business actors.

Director General of Small, Medium and Multifarious Industries (Dirjen IKMA) of the Ministry of Industry Reni Yanita said, this is expected to be able to continue to boost the competitiveness of national IKM.

"Commission activities through the IKM center approach are facilitation and guidance programs for community groups engaged in the small and medium business sector," he said in a press release quoted on Sunday, June 4.

Reni explained that the IKM center is a group of small to medium industry players who are in one location. He conveyed that South Kalimantan is one of the provinces that gets assistance, technical guidance, and equipment assistance because the area has many IKM centers.

"The Directorate General of IKMA at the Ministry of Industry has provided assistance at the horticultural processing center in Tapin Regency, especially for the processing of Hiyung's cayenne pepper," he said.

Reni noted, Data from the Central Statistics Agency 2022 shows that the yield of cayenne pepper in Tapin Regency is the widest in South Kalimantan, reaching 479 hectares with production of up to 2,015.7 tons. One of the leading local chili varieties in the area is the Hiyung cayenne pepper whose name comes from Hiyung Village, the village where these varieties grow.

Cayenne pepper Hiyung Tapin has also been registered as a product of Indonesian Geographical Indications in 2020. This chili is considered a unique variety that can be developed and processed into various products," he stressed.

On the same occasion, the Director of IKM for Food, Furniture, and Building Materials of the Directorate General of IKMA, Yedi Sabaryadi, said that based on data from the Tapin Regency Agriculture Service, Cayenne Pepper Hiyung had a decrease of 2,333.05 ppm (kadar capsaicin) much higher than other cayenne peppers.

"With the right technology, this unique chili can be developed into a variety of foods so that it can provide added value to farmers," he said.

Yedi said, many horticultural commodities have high value in the form of freshness, but when post-harvest the commodity is quickly damaged, it requires special handling to maintain product quality, one of which is Hiyung's cayenne pepper.

"Therefore, the Directorate General of IKMA of the Ministry of Industry continues to provide assistance to local IKM players so that Hiyung chilies can be processed into various derivative products," he added.

He added that the security factor is also an important point in the food industry sector, both for sale in domestic and foreign markets. Therefore, the Directorate General of IKMA of the Ministry of Industry continues to encourage food IKM to be able to meet Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) standards or Good Processed Food Production (CPPOB).

"The government continues to strive to encourage IKM players to understand and implement food security systems in the industry through mentoring activities in the hope that IKM players will be more productive and competitive," concluded Yedi.