Following the catfish cultivation program in Cihideung Ilir Village (the SEAMEO Star Village), SEAMEO BIOTROP held a training on smoked catfish processing for 20 housewives of this village. The training was conducted on 21, 22 and 29 March 2017 in the meeting hall of Cihideung Ilir Village. This activity was conducted due to the importance to develop post-harvest production technologies for catfish farmers for increasing family income in the village.
Materials delivered in this training consisted of theory and practice. Two resource persons from Research and Community Services Institution of Institut Pertanian Bogor delivered the materials: 1. Mr. Warcito, SP, MM, introduced the theories about the principal of post-harvest processing for catfish and the business aspect of smoked catfish products; 2. Ir. Sutrisno Koswara, M.Si, taught about the procedure for using medium-portable smoking machinery.
By learning the technology of smoked catfish processing as a life skill, the participants would understand the concepts and obtain the knowledge and skills on smoked catfish processing along with its business aspects. They also gained an opportunity to start the business soon and run it in cooperation with professional instructors from the Department of Food Science and Technology of Institut Pertanian Bogor to meet the market demand within and around the village.
This activity was closed by the visit to a catfish cultivation farm using Bio Flock System and to a smoked catfish products industry located in Gunung Sindur, Bogor.