DIGITIZATION AND TRANSFORMATION OF LOCAL FOOD POTENTIAL INTO VALUE-ADDED PROCESSED PRODUCTS  FOR RURAL ECONOMIC RESILIENCE IN TONDON DISTRICT, NORTH TORAJA

Rigel Sampelolo

Authors

Rigel Sampelolo Universitas Kristen Indonesia Toraja, Indonesia

Keywords:

Digitization, Transformation, Local Food Potential, Rural Economic

Abstract

This community service report on an initiative program to digitize and transform the potential of local food into value-added processed products to increase rural economic resilience in Tondon District, North Toraja. The program addresses the challenges of local agricultural commodities that have not been optimally utilized, including cassava, sweet potatoes, and taro, which are abundant but traditionally sold raw at low prices. The goal of the program is to empower farmer groups through training in food processing technology, product packaging, branding, and digital marketing. The method applied was a participatory action research approach involving 35 farmers from three villages for six months. The findings showed that the participants successfully produced five processed products: cassava flour chips, sweet potato chips, taro noodles, purple sweet potato cake, and vacuum fried banana chips. Digital marketing through social media platforms (Instagram and WhatsApp Business) and simple e-commerce sites increases average monthly household income by 37%. The conclusion is that integrating digital tools with local food processing significantly strengthens the resilience of rural economies.

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