Mapping Human Resource Potential in Ten Villages in Semangga District, IPB’s TEP Prepares Follow-Up Mentoring Programs
The IPB University Patriot Expedition Team (TEP) is preparing a number of follow-up mentoring programs for residents in ten villages in Semangga District, Merauke Regency, South Papua, following the results of a preliminary assessment conducted throughout August 2026.
The programs include assistance with product packaging design for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) as well as help with obtaining business permits.
The team conducted the assessment through direct discussions with village chief, posyandu cadres, farmer groups, business owners, and traditional leaders in the ten villages scattered across Semangga District.
This activity aims to identify the community’s actual needs as the basis for program design, given that the characteristics of each village vary, whether coastal or inland, local or former transmigration settlements. As a result, the team identified several areas of potential that require immediate follow up.
Market Access and Business Licenses
The team’s findings in Matara Village revealed that residents have successfully processed agricultural products into goods shipped as far as Bali, but they still face barriers to accessing broader markets. Meanwhile, MSME operators in Muram Sari Village are facing challenges in obtaining business licenses, such as BPOM approval, a Business Identification Number (NIB), and a Home Industry Food Production License (PIRT).
“In response to these findings, we have designed a program to assist MSMEs with product packaging design so they can be more competitive in a broader market, along with technical assistance in obtaining NIB and PIRT numbers for business owners who do not yet have them,” said Farhan, a team representative.
The team will also collaborate with SMKN 5 Merauke as a business incubator center, so that support for MSMEs can continue even after the team’s field assignment has ended.
Chief of Semangga District, Herman Kanggion, emphasized that this exploration of potential must lead to concrete follow-up actions.
“Every potential and human resource capacity need across these ten villages must be addressed comprehensively; they must not be handled in isolation. We propose that the entire Patriot Expedition Team stationed at the five locations in Semangga collaborate with the village chief under a single umbrella,” he said.
Looking ahead, Farhan said that human resource capacity building will also be directed through the Quality Family School program, which is designed to equip families in Semangga District with parenting and family health skills, while encouraging the younger generation to become more actively involved in the development of their own villages.
Through this series of mentoring programs, the IPB University Patriot Expedition Team (TEP) hopes that all the human resource potential identified in the ten villages of Semangga District can develop into a tangible economic and social force for the local community. (*/Rz) (IAAS/KQA)
