INOVASI PENGOLAHAN BUAH TOMAT MENJADI SAOS DI DESA SITUNGKIR KECAMATAN PENGURURAN KABUPATEN SAMOSIR PROVINSI SUMATERA UTARA

Situngkir Village, Pangururan Subdistrict, Samosir Regency, is an area with abundant tomato farming potential. However, farmers face challenges such as low market prices and tomatoes' susceptibility to spoilage due to high water content. To address these issues, an innovation program was initiated to produce Saos Tomat Asli Situngkir (SAS) as a post-harvest processing solution to enhance product value. The program began with surveys and discussions with the community, followed by the tomato sauce production process using locally sourced tomatoes. Replacing lime juice with sodium benzoate as a preservative improved the product's shelf life to 12 days at room temperature. The final product was packaged with appealing labels to attract consumers. The results show that SAS not only extends the shelf life of tomatoes but also provides an economic solution for farmers through product diversification. This initiative encourages community involvement, particularly women’s groups (PKK) and local micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), in processing and marketing, thereby supporting the sustainability of local farming businesses.This success serves as a model for collaboration between academics, farmers, and communities to create value-added local products. It is hoped that this innovation can be expanded through training and more effective marketing strategies to support the village economy and improve community welfare