Coconut is Indonesia's natural resource which is very potential. Coconut trees can grow well in almost all parts of Indonesia. People in general are very familiar with coconut because coconut fruit can be processed into various products with high economic value. Another product that is no less important than coconut is nira. Nira is a liquid with a high sugar content which is tapped from Coconut Flower (Mayang).
One area that has the potential for coconut palm sugar business is Nyamat Village, Landmark, Semarang Regency. From the efforts undertaken by the craftsmen in the local area, it turned out that several obstacles were encountered, namely aspects of production and management.
To answer this obstacle, the Community Partnership Program Team (PKM) of the Semarang State Polytechnic (Polines) consisting of Drs. Muhammad Asrori, M.Si, Zaenal Abidin, ST, MT, Noor Suroija, SE, MM provided assistance to 2 (two) sugar business units from coconut sap in Triwil MSMEs and Sri Rejeki MSMEs. Drs. Muhammad Asrori, M.Si as the PKM team explained about the selection of this MSME. "This MSME was chosen because it has sufficient experience in this business field and will still develop," he said on the sidelines of providing production equipment assistance at MSME locations, recently.
Therefore, increasing the quantity and quality as well as the professionalism of the management of production management, including the availability of the right technology, is very necessary. In addition, aspects of financial management, human resources, marketing, need to be carried out through the PKM program in order to support the development of these SMEs.
He revealed, the problems of MSME Partners in the production aspect were that there were still limited tools for the production process both in terms of quantity and technology used as well as packaging not a good product. And it is necessary to arrange the place for the production process and product storage. In the marketing aspect, promotion is still not optimal and marketing reach is limited. Meanwhile, the administrative aspects of financial management/accounting, taxation are in the form of a lack of understanding and application of good financial management arrangements, including budgeting, taxation, banking issues.
Solutions to overcome these various obstacles include the addition or manufacture of production equipment including the application of appropriate technology. "And the need for training/as well as assistance in the management of marketing, production, and financial management," he concluded.