Kerupuk merah is a type of crackers made of flour, and it isred in color. It is a type of snacks used as complementary foods, and it can add more taste and aesthetic value on the main dish. It is a unique local product. In West Sumatra, a kerupuk merah industrial center can be found in Piladang, Akabiluru District, Lima Puluh Kota Regency. The production of this cracker is still performed manually, raising major concerns with production capacity and hygiene. The capacity of kerupuk merah production is determined by the dough mixing process (the first process). This process involves the use of a rectangular wooden box and man power from 3 to 4 people for kneading. The production capacity is 500 kg of dough/day or 56–63 kg/hour. The dough mixing process is performed 1–2 times/week. The data above reflect that the production process of kerupuk merah is energy- and time-consuming, thereby reducing the quantity and quality of the production. The design of a dough mixing machine is a solution to this problem. The dough mixer drum is designed in length, width, and height of 80 cm, 80 cm, and 60 cm, respectively. The optimum capacity of the dough mixer drum in each mixing process at the speed of 27.2 rpm and mixing rate of 906.34 kg/h is 150–200 kg. The mixing machine designed is food-safe because it is made of stainless steel. This invention may increase the industrial production capacity of kerupuk merah, save the kneading time, and improve the hygiene of the production, allowing the business to be developed.

The existing cacao industry in West Sumatera is a small scale cacao industry. One of the risks encountered in this industry is that the production does not meet the target and the specification set, resulting in the difficulties for the industry to develop. The objective of the research is to conduct a supply chain risk management in the small scale cacao industry in West Sumatera. This research used a survey approach method. While the data collected were primary and secondary data. The supply chain management process used descriptive method and Analytic Network Process (ANP). Study on cacao industry chain supply risk source showed indicates that production risks are in the highest priority with a value of 21.78%. The marketing, financial, institutional and human resource risks have the same priority risk i.e. 19.55%. The highest priority of risk types includes the risk of availability of industrial capital, government policy, skills and personal knowledge, and production process cost, with the priority values of 0.102634; 0.101024; 0.099903; and 0.041294 respectively. An alternative risk control priority is to weaken risk (0.39191), and risk segregation (0.25798). Supply chain risk management needs to be held by weakening and segregating risks through improving product management, supply management and information management prioritized on procurement and production processes, thereby enhancing the quality and quantity of processed cocoa products on an ongoing basis. The results of the study can become an input to stakeholders related to the development of smallscale cocoa industry in West Sumatera.

Pemupukan dapat dilakukan dengan dua cara yakni manual dan mekanis. Pemupukan manual menghasilkan aplikasi pupuk yang beragam dan membutuhkan tenaga kerja yang banyak. Peralatan pemupuk berbentuk tugal belum efisien untuk proses pemupukan, maka perlu adanya alat yang dapat mempermudah proses pemupukan tanpa memerlukan waktu dan tenaga yang terlalu banyak. Alat penabur pupuk butiran tipe gendong adalah salah satu alat untuk meningkatkan efektifitas dan efisiensi pada proses pemupukan tanaman terutama tanaman palawija. Tujuan penelitian adalah melakukan rancang bangun, analisa kinerja, dan analia ekonomi alat penabur pupuk butiran tipe gendong. Alat penabur pupuk butiran tipe gendong dibuat dan diujicobakan di Bengkel Logam dan Lahan Percobaan Politeknik Pertanian Negeri Payakumbuh pada bulan Juni hingga September 2020. Pembuatan alat dilakukan memenuhi rancangan struktural dan fungsional. Spesifikasi alat penebar pupuk butiran tipe gendong hasil rancangan adalah sebagai berikut: berat alat 2 kg, jarak kerja alat 25 cm, kedalamam kerja alat, 3-5 cm, material hopper terpal, volume hopper 5 kg, material outlet PVC. Hasil uji kinerja alat penabur pupuk butiran didapatkan kapasitas kerja efektif sebesar 0,0379 ha/jam, kapasitas kerja teoritis adalah 0,0532 ha/jam, sehingga efisiensi kerja alat penabur pupuk butiran adalah 71,24%. Hasil analisa ekonomi didapatkan biaya tetap alat sebesar Rp. 500.000,-/tahun. Biaya tidak tetap sebesar Rp. 10.675/jam, biaya pokok penaburan pupuk butiran sebesar Rp. 287.150/Ha. Break event point/titik impas adalah sebesar 4,225 Ha/tahun.

Coconut husk as by-product of coconut is very potential material for many applications. The coconut coir consists of coconut fibre and cocopeat. The improvement made in this research is to design a machine that suits the need of local coconut industry in Sumatera Barat. This machine is powered by 22 HP engine diesel that rotates at 1100 RPM. This engine is connected to rotary knife through double pulley-belt transmission system. The pulleys have 14:25 ratio with the lower side being installed to the engine and the other to the axis. There were 19 knives put to the axis with angle difference of 60 degree. This rotary knife was perpendicular to the axis to increase the effectiveness during the ripping process. The separation mechanism was done by using lines and holes in the cylindrical tube of the machine. The tube has diameter 596 mm. The capacity derived was 123 kg/hour. Dimension of the machine is 2270 x 900 x 1323.13 mm. This machine works for separating coconut fibre and cocopeat.

The selling price of thinly sliced young areca nut is higher than that round areca and splited areca nut, but the manual slicing process takes a long time, about 8 minutes/kg, and this process has a high risk. The young areca nut slicing machine was developed to solve the problem of manual slicing. The purpose of the research is to conduct machine design, machine testing (verification test, machine performance test, service test), and economic analysis. The young areca nut slicing machine was made and tested at the Metal Workshop and Agricultural Machine Tool Laboratory of the Payakumbuh State Agricultural Polytechnic from June to September 2021. The machine was made according to structural and functional designs. Verification tests were carried out with the aim of technically matching the data with the results of machine measurements. Parameter measurements were carried out to explain the performance of the young areca slicing machine. The parameters measured were: slicing capacity, slicing quality (average thickness and percentage of damage), specific power requirements, and power transmission efficiency. Economic analysis was carried out to explain fixed costs, variable costs, basic costs, and the break-even point. The results of the verification of the areca nut slicing machine are that with vertical type, specifications 65 x 45 x 75) cm, the driving motor is a 1 HP electric motor with a rotation speed of 1480 RPM that is transmitted through a v-belt connected to a pulley speed reducer and transmitted via a v-belt to slicer shaft. The results of the slicing capacity performance test are 50 kg/hour, slicing quality (4.2 mm thickness, and 8 percent broken percentage), the specific power requirement is 0.015 kw-hour/kg and the power transmission efficiency of 8.6%. The results of the economic analysis of the areca nut slicing machine are: fixed costs of IDR of 1,425,000/year, variable costs of IDR 11,397/hour, basic cost of IDR 239,8/kg, and the break-even point of IDR 1.845,7 kg/year. The developed areca nut slicing machine can increase the capacity, quality, and effectiveness of slicing young areca nut.