Peningkatan Nilai Tambah Jeruk Garut melalui Pengolahan Sirup Buah di Desa Mekarjaya

Abstrak

Mekarjaya Village, Tarogong Kaler Subdistrict, Garut Regency is one of the orange- producing areas with abundant production, especially during the harvest season. This condition often causes post-harvest problems, such as a decline in quality and threats to oranges due to restrictions on the utilization and distribution of harvests. Therefore, alternative processing is needed to extend the shelf life and increase the added value of oranges. This community service activity aims to increase community knowledge and understanding of processing oranges into fruit syrup as a processed product based on local potential. The methods used in this activity include preparation, socialization through material delivery and interactive discussions, distribution of brochures as educational media, and evaluation using pre-tests and post-tests. The activity was carried out on December 20, 2025, involving 15 people from Mekarjaya Village. The evaluation results showed a significant increase in community knowledge, as indicated by an average pre-test score of 68%, which increased to 98% on the post- test. In addition to increasing knowledge, this activity also increased participants' interest and readiness to process citrus fruits into syrup independently and strengthened their perception of the potential of citrus syrup as a village business or MSME product. Thus, this outreach activity proved effective in increasing public understanding and supporting the optimal and sustainable utilization of citrus harvests.