EMPOWERING HOME INDUSTRY FOR FISH/SHRIMP CRACKERS IN CENTRAL JAVA

Abstract

EMPOWERING HOME INDUSTRY FOR FISH/SHRIMP CRACKERS IN CENTRAL JAVA Azis Nur Bambang dan Agus Suherman Socio-economics Laboratory of Fisheries, Fisheries Department, Faculty of Fisheries & Marine Science Diponegoro University, Semarang, Indonesia. Fisheries Resource Utilization Study Program, Fisheries Department, Faculty of Fisheries & Marine Science Diponegoro University, Semarang, Indonesia. ABSTRACT The processing of fish/shrimp crackers in Central Java is mostly done in a simple way, in the form of traditional home industries. The characteristics of home industry are small capital, small scale industry, the products are manually processed in a simple way which are completed by a lot of workers. The weakness of the home industry products is that the quality of the products is usually low or under standart quality which finally causes some difficulties in their marketing. In general, the problems faced by fish/shrimp crackers home industries are the raw material supply, capital, technology applied, human resources, organization, and marketing. To overcome those problems in facing free-market economic globalization, it is necessary to empower these home industries. This can be done by supporting the capital, establishing steady organization in handling the process from the beginning; the supply of raw material until the product marketing, developing human resources quality, mastering technology applied, and supervising the quality of products. 'Through these efforts, it is hoped that fish/shrimp crackers production can be developed, its quality could be standardized, hence the quality, quantity and continuity of the products could be maximized to increase its marketing and competitive value in domestic or international market. Keywords: Fish/shrimp crackers, empowerment, home industry. Introduction Fish or other fishery products should be managed well so that they can be maximally useful as foodstuff. The processing of fish products is very necessary because of fish nature which is easily spoiled. Thus, fish processing will make the products last longer. Fish processed also has more value than the fresh one. This can be seen from its lasting capacity, its specific taste and its wider market range. Fish processed can be in the forms of smoke fish, dried fish, salted fish, fish sauce, and fish/shrimp crackers. Fish cracars and shrimp crackers have better taste and have more nutrients compared to other crackers made from wheat or rice flour. Fish/shrimp crackers is made in the way of making tapioca crackers with fish/shrimp and spices addition. Fish/shrimp crackers can be differentiated through its taste, the more fish/shrimp added, the better the taste will be and the price will also be higher. The processing of fish/shrimp crackers in Central Java is mostly done in a simple way, in the form of traditional home industries. The characteristics of home industry are small capital, small scale industry, fast turn-over rate, and the products are manually processed in a simple way which is completed by a lot of workers. The general weakness that can be found in small scale industry (home industry) is that the quality of the product is usually low or under standard quality which finally causes some difficulties for the buyers to get good quality crackers. There are many fish/shrimp crackers products available in the market labeling as the first quality products, but there is not any guarantee or any information on the ingredients